CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The Frostburg State Women's basketball team dropped a road MEC contest to Charleston by a score of 80-68 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcats started off strong as they got three straight buckets from junior Mackenzie Freeze and freshman Emilee Weakley to take an early 6-2 lead. After FSU was halted by an 8-0 Golden Eagle run, senior Ariana Briggs-Hall converted on a tough jumper and was followed by junior Rhiana Hall converting one of her own to tie the game at 10-10. A layup by Briggs-Hall, a three from senior Ciara Thomas, and a tough layup by senior Maggie Sharp brought the Bobcats to within two at 19-17 going into the second quarter. 

Charleston held a two possession lead for the majority of the second quarter, but FSU stayed within striking distance as Freeze knocked down a highly-contested three and Briggs-Hall converted on several free throws. The Golden Eagles threatened to pull away in the final minutes of the second, but Briggs-Hall and graduate Shelby Funchess scored tough layups to end the half and keep the deficit within two possessions at 38-33 UC.

The third quarter started with a individual 6-0 run by Weakley to give the Bobcats a 39-38 lead early on, as the offense almost exclusively went through the freshman. She would go on to add six more points in the third to keep FSU in the game at 55-51 going into the fourth. 

Frostburg would convert on three of their first four shots of the fourth as Freeze, Briggs-Hall, and Funchess would all score, but the deficit climbed to seven as the Golden Eagles could not miss from the floor. The game quickly got out of hand for FSU as Charleston went on a 7-0 run and pushed their lead to 14 with five minutes left, but the Bobcats would not go down easily as Sharp hit a pair of threes from downtown and Weakly added one of her own to cut the lead back down to seven with a little more than a minute left. Charleston would hit their free throws in the final minute and ultimately pull away with the victory, 80-68.

Weakley led the charge for FSU as she had a game-high 19 points and brought down seven rebounds. Sharp and Briggs-Hall both had double digit scoring performances, with 10 and 14 points, respectively. 

With the loss, Frostburg drops to 2-6 on the year and Charleston climbs to 5-2. The Bobcats will be back in action on Wednesday,  December 7 at reigning Division II national champions Glenville State starting at 5:30 P.M. For more information on Frostburg sports, visit www.frostburgathletics.edu