Tingle's 4th Triple-Double Nets 6th Straight Win for WLU
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Senior point guard Audrey Tingle posted her fourth triple-double of the month and the West Liberty rolled to their sixth straight win here Saturday with a 75-44 rout of West Virginia Wesleyan inside the ASRC.
Already leading the nation in multiple statistical categories, the 5-6 Tingle put on another show in helping Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (15-5, 10-4) take sole possession of second place in the Mountain East Conference.
Along with her 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, Tingle was charted with a game-high 4 steals and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the 3-point arc before jogging off the court to a standing ovation with the game well in hand.
It was her second double-double of the week, coming on the heels of Wednesday's 11 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists at Davis & Elkins. She posted triple-doubles earlier this month against Concord on Jan. 5 and at Alderson Broaddus on Jan. 19.
Tingle's four triple-doubles are the most by any NCAA woman this season. Now with five career triple-doubles, she's tied with NCAA Division I All-American Caitlin Clark of Iowa at the top of the career charts.
Well over 1,000 points for her career, the Hilltoppers' perpetual motion machine currently leads the nation in Assists, Double-Doubles and Triple-Doubles while ranking among the Top 10 nationally with more than 200 rebounds despite standing only 5-6.
"Audrey is the most unselfish young woman on the planet," Cooper said, "so we're thrilled to see her rewarded with the national recognition. She has to be on everybody's radar for All-America and Academic All-America consideration. She's a remarkable individual on and off the court and her leadership has been a huge factor in our success."
Tingle got plenty of help from her supporting cast on Saturday.
Junior forward Arriana Manzay had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds while going 6-for-6 from the floor and swatting aside 4 shots by the outgunned Bobcats (2-13, 1-12).
Bailee Smith matched Tingle's 4 steals and led all scorers with 20 points while Karly McCutcheon connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Symphonie Bryant-Brown was Wesleyan's only double-figure scorer with 11 points as the aggressive Hilltopper defense forced 24 turnovers while holding the Bobcats to just 17-of-67 (25 percent) shooting from the floor.
"This was a great way to finish out January," Cooper said. "A big win puts us at 15-5 on the season and second place in a really good league and we did it the right way. Twenty-three assists on 26 made baskets. That's Hilltopper basketball."
The West Liberty women have a pair of big games coming up this week, both of them on the road. The Hilltoppers travel to West Virginia State for a 5:30 p.m. game on Wednesday and return to Kanawha County on Saturday for a 2 p.m. test at defending Atlantic Region champion Charleston.