FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg Women's Basketball team hosted the West Liberty Hilltoppers for a Wednesday night match-up at Bobcat Arena in a thrilling 99-94 overtime victory.
FSU wore all-pink jerseys as the game was played to support in the fight against breast cancer, a theme across all of collegiate basketball this week.
It was all senior Arianna Briggs-Hall to open the game for the Bobcats, as she scored the first three baskets and seven points of the evening, including making her third three-pointer of the season. With Frostburg up 7-1 early, WLU locked down defensively and went on a 20-2 run to take a commanding lead. Freshman Emilee Weakley knocked down her first three of the evening with just under three minutes to go in the first quarter, making the score 21-12, then the standout forward went on to add five more points in the first quarter, marking the start of a career night. Graduate Shelby Funchess, Weakley, Briggs-Hall, and junior Rhiana Hall all scored in the final two minutes of the quarter, as this time it was FSU using defense to their advantage, ending the quarter down just two at 25-23.
The Hilltoppers started the second period with another offensive spurt to go up by seven, but Funchess and Weakley both made lay-ups to get within three. WLU continued to try and pull away, but the fight Frostburg has shown in recent weeks showed again, as Funchess and Weakley continued their scoring with seven points unanswered. West Liberty got a late basket to go with five seconds left in the half, taking a 41-38 lead into the locker room.
The Bobcats opened the second half with junior MacKenzie Freeze knocking one down from behind the arc, followed by lay-ins from Briggs-Hall and Weakley to take a two-point advantage. WLU responded with an and-one, but senior Maggie Sharp was there with a well-timed triple to maintain FSU's lead. The Hilltoppers were able to find their range at the mid-point of the quarter, pouring in four threes to hit back at long-distance makes by Sharp and Briggs-Hall, eventually getting out to a 67-60 lead to end the third.
Frostburg came out with a fire under them to start the fourth, as Weakley, Sharp, and senior Ciara Thomas converted on their first three attempts from the field to cut the deficit to three. West Liberty's Corinne Thomas answered with five straight points on her own, pushing the lead to eight with just over seven minutes left on the clock. FSU couldn't seem to find an answer on defense, as the Hilltoppers got out to a 10-point lead with under three minutes remaining, looking as if they had a win in their grasp.
The Bobcats would not be a part of that story, as they found another gear, sparked by three straight buckets between Weakley and Hall. Needing to foul, WLU's Karly McCutcheon made two from the charity stripe with 16 seconds left before a timeout and quick score from Weakley brought things to 84-80 and the Hilltoppers at the line again. This time, however, center Arriana Manzay couldn't convert on either attempt, with Weakley again getting a quick score at the other end to bring the Bobcats within two. Another foul was need with just two seconds left on the clock, with West Liberty's Thomas looking to ice the game at the line, but could only make one of two. With no timeouts left on the make, FSU needed a miracle and was provided just that, as Briggs-Hall threw a half-court dime to Weakley, who quickly spun and threw up the game-tying shot that rocked Bobcat Arena and sent the game to overtime at 85-85.
Each side traded blows to open the extra period, with Manzay getting a quick lay-up and Weakley getting fouled, making both her foul shots to tie the game back up at 87-87. Another Weakley bucket was followed by a one-of-two free throw effort by Funchess to put Frostburg ahead by three. The Bobcat defense stayed focused as time ticked on, holding WLU without a basket for nearly four and a half minutes. Sharp was perfect at the line at the 2:31 mark, then Freeze and Weakley would be fouled, with each going one for two on their trips to the line to put FSU ahead 94-88. After two more makes from Sharp, the Hilltoppers responded with a three-point shot with 20 seconds remaining to make the score 96-92. Frostburg's Thomas was fouled 19 seconds remaining, splitting her pair to maintain a five-point gap, but West Liberty made two free throws of their own, making the score 97-94 Bobcats with 10 seconds to go. Senior Rhiana Hall sealed the deal for Frostburg, knocking down two free throws to make the final score 99-94, with the clock running out on WLU's final efforts.
Weakley led the charge for the Bobcats with her 17th double-double of the year, dropping a career high 47 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Briggs-Hall had a double-double of
her own, scoring 16 points and collecting 13 boards, while Sharp added 14 points, including a 6-of-6 performance at the charity stripe. The 99 points are the most scored by the team at the Division II level and the most in a game since scoring 100 in 2005.
With her stellar performance, Weakley set a program single game scoring record with 47 points, while also becoming the program's single season scoring champion at 648 points, passing former star Sheila Colbert's record of 633 set in the 1988-89 season.
With the tremendous victory, the Bobcats improve to 8-17 on the season, while the Hilltoppers move to 15-10 overall. Make sure to catch Frostburg back in action on Saturday, February 18 as they travel to Wheeling for a 2 PM tip-off. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.
