WHEELING, W.Va. – The top-seeded Fairmont State University women's basketball team faced the second-seeded West Virginia State Yellow Jackets in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship. Second half heroics by the Falcons and Alyssa DeAngelo led the team to an 81-67 victory.

"I just feel extremely blessed to share this moment with our locker room," head coach Stephanie Anderson said following the game. "Every day they have come in with the right mindset and just to be able to share this with them and everyone that has supported us it beautiful."

Fairmont State started the game with energy and tenacity on defense forcing four turnovers in the first two-plus minutes. During that stretch, the Falcons scored nine-consecutive points with five of them coming from Madeline Huffman.

West Virginia State started to come alive as it scored 10 of the next 14 and pulled within three (13-10) with 5:25 remaining in the first. The Yellow Jackets kept their hot streak going as they eventually took a 15-13 lead.

Down the other end of the floor, Madeline Huffman found her sister, Leslie who nailed a left wing three. Following another forced turnover, Alyssa DeAngelo drove the middle of the paint and laid it in with her left hand. The Falcons regained control of the game, 18-15 with 2:28 on the clock.

DeAngelo added two free throws before West Virginia State scored the contest's final five points of the first period while Fairmont State missed a couple of chances with a turnover. At the end of one, the game was tied at 20.

The Yellow Jackets kept its run going as they scored five more before Aaliyah Brunny found Jalen Gibbs for an open layup to end the run. The Falcons trailed by three (25-22) just 2:04 into the period. West Virginia State kept its hot shooting from behind the arc as it made five of the first six attempts. Free throws began to play a factor as it allowed State to grow the lead to 32-24 with 5:57 left in the half.

Both sides started to go back-and-forth as Fairmont State started to reel in the difference. By the halftime horn sounded, the Falcons trailed 39-34 as DeAngelo led the team with 12 points.

Coming out of the locker room, Fairmont State gave up a layup but behind the sharp-shooting of DeAngelo, the top-seeded Falcons went back in front, 42-41 and forced a West Virginia State timeout.

The Yellow Jackets evened the game with a free throw but a jumper by DeAngelo and a Leslie Huffman three from the top of the key pushed the Falcons ahead by five (47-42) as the clock read 6:54. Madeline Huffman called her own number to keep the stretch going with a three and make it an eight-point game at the under-five media timeout.

Fairmont State expanded its lead to 12 (54-42) and following a turnover by West Virginia State, DeAngelo buried a three from the left wing to keep the team ahead 57-44. The Yellow Jackets hit a three at the buzzer to make it 57-47 as the game ventured to the final 10 minutes of regulation.

State dropped in the first field goal, but Katy Darnell floated one in before Leslie Huffman hit a three to make it a 62-49 game. The teams exchanged free throws with the Yellow Jackets following with a layup. On the other hand, Gibbs answered with a three-point play of her own.

Gibbs then blocked a shot which started a fastbreak for the Falcons as Darnell found DeAngelo in the paint for two. West Virginia State scored four-straight and turned up the pressure trying to force turnovers. Following a couple of fouls, Fairmont State itself in the double bonus.

Free throws became an emphasis of the game as the Falcons made six-straight with a Gibbs layup mixed in. With 1:53 left in regulation, FSU led 77-63. The Yellow Jackets were not going down without a fight as they made two free throws followed with a layup, but DeAngelo put FSU back up by 12 (79-67) with two free throws.

DeAngelo added two more free throws to seal the 14-point win and the conference title. For the first time in program history, the women's basketball team won the regular season and conference tournament title in the same season.

DeAngelo led the team with 35 points with 23 in the second half. On the day, she made all 16 free throws she attempted which set a tournament record.

"At halftime right before we started, I told my teammates I am not losing this, we are going to this together and my teammates followed," DeAngelo said. "It means everything to me, and it shows what we can do as a group. We have been through everything together and its honestly the perfect story."

 Jalen Gibbs added 14 points with six steals which is a championship game record. Leslie Huffman finished with 13 points, going 3-4 from beyond the arc. In the second half, the team went 15-21 from the free throw line with an 86.7-percentage (13-15) in the fourth period.

"As a player, I don't think a lot of us realized how special it is to win both the regular and tournament title," Leslie Huffman added. "To be able to win both says a lot about the players and the coaches to what we have accomplished."

Alyssa DeAngelo, Jalen Gibbs and Leslie Huffman were named to the All-Tournament Team as DeAngelo was also honored as the MEC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Fairmont State awaits the NCAA Division II Selection show to see when and where it will be playing. The selection show begins at 10:30 p.m. and to follow along, click here.