INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State's Women's Basketball fell to No. 18/23 West Virginia State 102-64 in their road outing on Saturday afternoon.

WVSU struck first as they converted on a layup almost a minute into the game before freshman Emilee Weakley responded with a layup of her own on the next possession. Both teams went back-and-forth scoring wise, until Weakley converted on a jump shot and senior Ciara Thomas made a bucket underneath to put FSU up three at 10-7. The Yellow Jackets responded with back to back threes to then put themselves up 13-10 at the 5:58 mark. Junior Rhiana Hall and senior Arianna Briggs-Hall got in on the scoring action for the Bobcats, hitting a jump shot and a layup, respectively, to bring the score to 17-14 in favor of WVSU. Both teams were able to capitalize on multiple free throw attempts, trading fouls back and forth for the last few minutes of the quarter. With 1:30 left to go in the first, WVSU was able to get to the basket on a make, which was followed by a Thomas layup for Frostburg to trail 25-20 after one.

Weakley scored the first points of the second, going 2-for-2 from the free throw line, then was able to score her 11th point of the afternoon on a driving layup to pull Frostburg within one. The Yellow Jackets went on a 10-0 run before Briggs-Hall was able to connect on a floater with just over six minutes left in the half. Both teams were held scoreless for almost a minute and a half until WVSU was sent to the line for two, then used their momentum from the charity stripe to finish on a 16-7 run, outscoring FSU 26-13 in the quarter to head to the half in the lead 51-33.

In the first two periods, Weakley led the Bobcats with 12 points and five rebounds, while Briggs-Hall was right behind her with seven points and six rebounds. Thomas added six points and three boards. The WVSU press created much of their offense, as they were able to force 11 FSU turnovers in the half.

West Virginia State proved their national ranking and continued their rhythm on offense, hitting three straight from behind the arc and jumping out to an 11-4 run to open the third quarter. Weakley was able to show a little spark for the Bobcats by connecting on two free throws and a jumper to bring the score to 62-41. The Yellow Jackets then scored the next 17 points as FSU struggled to get stops on defense and protect the ball on offense. Frostburg was able to finally get back on the board with 52 seconds left in the quarter as sophomore Jasmine Johnson connected on a layup, but FSU was outscored 27-10 in the quarter as WVSU forced another 10 TO's.

Down 78-43, FSU still found themselves struggling on both sides of the ball, as WVSU scored the first five points of the fourth. Frostburg didn't score until almost three minutes into the quarter when senior Maggie Sharp was able to hit a corner three on an inbound under the basket. The Yellow Jackets responded right away with a three pointer of their own before Sharp connected again from behind the arc. After a hot scoring start to the fourth, both teams slowed down on offense as WVSU converted from the free throw line at the 3:45 mark to make the score 90-51 and the Bobcats didn't score again until the 2:28 mark to make the score 94-54. With just under a minute left, juniors MacKenzie Freeze and Olivia Ramsey hit back to back three pointers to bring the final score 102-64 in favor of the Yellow Jackets.

Weakley finished with 18 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Briggs-Hall, Sharp, and Thomas each finished with seven points apiece, as Briggs-Hall also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists.

With the loss, Frostburg now falls to 5-15 on the season while WVSU improves to 16-3. FSU will stay on the road to face Concord on Wednesday, February 1, with tip-off set for 5:30 PM. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.