West Liberty Women Thump W.Va. Wesleyan, 70-44
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women’s basketball team held West Virginia Wesleyan to 25 percent shooting from the floor and dominated the glass at both ends of the Rockefeller Arena court Wednesday night in running away to a 70-44 road win.
Coach Kyle Cooper’s Hilltoppers (4-2, 2-1) took control midway through the first quarter and took a 16-10 lead over the Bobcats (2-3, 1-2) into the second 10-minute period.
West Liberty poured in 22 points during that frame to take a 38-23 lead at intermission and continued to pull away throughout the second half.
Wesleyan came into the game as one of the leading rebounding teams in the MEC at plus-8.5 rebounds/game but it was a different story with the Hilltoppers in the building.
With junior post Arriana Manzay clearing a career-high 16 boards, West Liberty finished the night with a whopping 58-46 rebounding advantage.
The Hilltoppers' defensive effort was just as impressive as the Bobcats hit just 18-of-71 shots from the floor (25.4 percent), including an 0-for-11 showing from behind the 3-point arc.
Bailee Smith led all scorers for West Liberty with 19 points while Karly McCutcheon knocked down four 3-pointers to add 17 lightings to the WLU ledger.
Symphonie Bryant-Brown had a game-high 20 points in a losing cause for West Virginia Wesleyan.
Coach Cooper and his Hilltoppers return to the friendly confines of the ASRC on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against Davis & Elkins.