Coach Lynn Ullom’s Hilltoppers rode a strong defensive effort to their fifth straight win with a dominating second half performance in a 65-56 victory against Charleston at the ASRC.
West Liberty (6-1, 3-0) maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half in handing the Golden Eagles (3-2, 1-1) their first West Virginia Conference loss of the season.
“I thought our team defense was the key for us tonight,” Hilltopper head coach Lynn Ullom said. “We shot the ball poorly and didn’t rebound at all but I’ve always preached that you can stay in games if you guard people and I was very pleased with our defense, especially in the second half.”
The teams traded leads for much of the opening half before West Liberty went ahead to stay, 35-30, on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jenni Robbins.
Despite giving up 17 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes, the Hilltoppers carried a 38-32 lead into the locker room at intermission.
“I didn’t even raise my voice at halftime,” Ullom said. “I just made two points. First, we have to do a better job on the defensive glass. Secondly, champions don’t get tired.”
His team seemed to take those words to heart.
Charleston – which finished just one point behind No. 1 West Liberty in the WVIAC coaches’ preseason poll – trimmed the margin to 42-40 on a fast break basket by Marilene Lapierre with 16:20 remaining but the Eagles could get no closer.
Meghan Wiseman ignited what proved to be the game’s decisive run with a pair of free throws and Jordan Stacey followed with a 3-pointer.
Wiseman cashed in a fast break on a pretty pass from Tori Hansen and Hansen pushed the lead into double digits, 51-40, with two free throws at the 13:30 mark.
Erika Rousculp tried to stop the bleeding for UC with a rebound basket but Hansen came right back with another 3-point bomb and the Hilltoppers were on their way, 54-42, with 12:54 to go.
Hansen led all scorers with 22 points while Wiseman and Stacey added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Lindsey Kentner topped Charleston with 16 points while Tiana Beatty added 10 lightings in a losing cause for the Golden Eagles, who won the battle of the boards by a 58-39 margin but shot just 34 percent (26-of-75) from the floor and were forced into 19 turnovers by the WLU defense.
“Meghan Wiseman really set the tone for us at both ends of the court right from the start,” Ullom said. “She hit some really big shots for us early and did a great job on (Tarenna) Dixon, who’s one of the best posts in our league.
“The thing about tonight, though, is that we didn’t rely on one kid to do everything for us. Tori had another great game. Jordan Stacey is becoming more and more of a factor. Jenni hit some big shots. Laura Malernee made some plays.
“I could go right down the line but the point is we’re getting different kids coming up big at different points in the game and that’s a very positive development.”
The Hilltoppers have next week off for Finals Week on the West Liberty campus before returning to action on Dec. 11 against California, Pa. in the Komen Classic at Indiana (Pa.) University.
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