FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball Team defeated the West Liberty Hilltoppers on Wednesday evening by a score of 94-88 to split the season series.
Frostburg freshman Jenna Muha won the jump ball, but FSU missed the initial jumper sending West Liberty to their offensive end. WLU got fouled and earned an easy two points at the line for the first points of the game. Another miss by the Bobcats put West Liberty up 4-0. Freshman Alanna Tate than drew a foul on a layup, earning a three-point play for FSU to bring the game to 4-3. Back-to-back threes followed by a layup for the Hilltoppers put them on top 11-3. Teams exchange buckets, as sophomore Emilee Weakley with two and WLU with a three made the game 14-5. Coming down the floor, graduate Ciara Thomas got fouled going up and sinking two to bring the score to 14-7. A minute and a half dragged on without a score, until graduate Maggie Sharp sunk a jumper to cut the game to 14-9. A returned two from West Liberty put them back up seven 16-9. An answered back two from freshman Grace Middleton cut WLU's lead down to five 16-11. A defensive board by junior Jasmine Johnson allowed for junior Harley Herndon to find Sharp for a routine three to get the Bobcats within two 16-14. After a missed shot by FSU, the Hilltoppers converted a layup to jump ahead 18-14. Sharp earned herself a three to put Frostburg within one, 18-17. At the opposite end, WLU drew a foul, sinking two more free throws in go up 20-17. Weakley secured an offensive board and a putback on the next play to keep FSU within one 20-19. To end the quarter, West Liberty went to the free throw line to add two more to their score to bring the game to 22-19.
WLU came out to start the second knocking down a three to go up 25-19. A few seconds later, the Hilltoppers knocked down another three to jump ahead 28-19. To take their greatest lead of the game, West Liberty knocked down two free throws and a layup to increase their lead to 32-19. After three minutes, FSU finally found their first point of the second quarter, as Tate made a free throw for a 32-20 score. The Hilltoppers lost the ball but gained it back for a quick three to increase their lead to 15. To take a 17 point lead, WLU retrieved a steal and connected on a fastbreak layup to bring the game to 37-20. A jumper for Tate put FSU back on the board 37-22. With under five to play in the half, Middleton and Weakley cut the Hilltopper's lead down to 10. Points, mainly free throws were traded, as Weakley, Tate, and Johnson contributed for Frostburg. With a minute left in the second quarter, Sharp went two-for-two from the line with Weakley hitting a three-point play, bringing the game to 47-39 going into the half with West Liberty on top.
Layups for both teams started the third to cut West Liberty's lead to 49-41. Tate and Weakley with jumpers sent the score to 49-45. A coast-to-coast jumper and a defensive rebound to a layup added four to WLU's score, with Weakley finding herself another layup for a 53-47 game. After a minute passed, Middleton went 3-for-4 from the free throw line and connected on a layup, making it a one-point game 53-52. Weakley allowed FSU to cut in front 54-53. WLU drew a foul, allowing them to retain the lead 55-54. Both teams swapped layups and created lead changes, until Sharp knocked down a three and put the Bobcats up two. Weakley then earned a three-point play and Tate added two, as Frostburg jumped in front 66-59. Five points to WLU cut FSU's lead to two, 66-64. Both teams battled for an intense last minute in the third, as Sharp with a steal and freshman Mandy Roman with a layup in the last seconds gave Frostburg a 71-67 lead heading into the fourth.
Tate scored for the opening bucket of the final quarter, allowing the Bobcats to jump ahead 73-67. West Liberty quickly answered to bring the game to 73-69. Weakley, with a signature coast-to-coast jumper, added to FSU's lead once more for a 75-69 game. The quarter was close, as FSU started to pull away after another layup from Tate to bring the game to 84-76. With under five minutes left in regulation, WLU cut the deficit to two. Middleton maneuvered through the defense to push FSU ahead 86-82. A huge three from the Hilltoppers made it a one-point game 86-85. Weakley was fouled twice in back-to-back plays, knocking down four straight free throws to increase FSU's lead to 90-85. West Liberty wasn't done yet, hitting another three for a two-point game, 90-88. With time in Frostburg's favor, WLU was forced to foul, sending both Sharp and Tate to the line to seal the game and the 94-88 victory for FSU.
Four Bobcats finished scoring in double figures with Weakley (36), Tate (18), Sharp (16) and Middleton (12). Weakley finished with four steals and two assists, as Johnson led the team with 14 rebounds and two blocks.
With the conclusion of this game, Frostburg moves to an overall record of 14-9 and a conference record 11-5, while West Liberty falls to an overall record of 8-15 and a conference record of 5-10. The Bobcats are back in action on Saturday, February 17 at 2 PM as they travel to Wheeling for a conference matchup. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
