INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball team held off a late West Virginia State comeback attempt in a 79-69 road victory on Saturday afternoon.
 
WVSU won the opening tip and missed their first two shots, however back-to-back offensive rebounds allowed them to get the opening bucket, as sophomore Julie Spinelli responded with a three for FSU. A minute and a half later, redshirt sophomore Mandy Roman got a putback to go followed by a dish to junior Jenna Muha either side of a Yellow Jacket bucket, as the game stood at 7-4 after five minutes. The Roman-Muha connection paid off once more while Spinelli and sophomore Ayla Hileman went for back-to-back triples, as the latter also got a steal-and-score to suddenly move ahead 17-6. WV State broke a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought on a lay-in, while Spinelli netted a pair of jumpers down the stretch before a last-second basket by Latisha Parris brought the end to the first with Frostburg leading 21-10.
 
The sides went back-and-forth through the first two minutes of the second frame, as Spinelli drove to the cup while Muha converted an and-one thanks to redshirt freshman Sophie Nichols' assist, taking the advantage to 26-14. Hileman continued to pile on the offense with a trey before grabbing her own miss for a layup, growing the lead up to 17. WVSU tried to get some momentum with a made three, however sophomore Laekyn Flinn got in on the action from a Hileman assist and Muha knocked down a pair at the line for a 35-17 score at the midway point of the period. Over a two-minute stretch, the Yellow Jackets were able to put some offense together, going on a 9-2 run with a pair of lay-ins, a triple, and a couple freebies, bringing the deficit down to 11. Freshman Ella Sabatos helped end the run with an offensive board and putback before Flinn fed Hileman from deep, as a pair of late WV State baskets put the halftime score at 42-30.
 
It didn't take very long for the Yellow Jackets to immediately get themselves back into the game, as the hosts nailed a trio of three-pointers within the first two minutes out of the break as part of an 11-2 run that suddenly brought them to within three. FSU's defense picked up from that point, holding WVSU scoreless for over four minutes. During the run, Roman got a much-needed steal, going coast-to-coast for a score, while Spinelli got a tip-in to go and freshman Zaria Gaskins also forced a turnover, feeding Muha in the lane to restore a nine-point advantage at 50-41. Spinelli began to drive the offense for the next two minutes, first finding a great pass to redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson for an easy layup before knocking down a tough jumper and a layup off a Roman feed to push the lead to 13. A late flurry by WV State kept them in touching distance, hitting a three and back-to-back layups to pull within 58-50 at the buzzer.
 
Having finished the third with a layup, Muha converted again with a Roman assist to begin the final frame, as the sides traded buckets early on with Hileman driving the lane for a 62-53 score. Frostburg failed to hit any of their next five shots, allowing the Yellow Jackets to score nine unanswered and pull all the way to within two. Muha restored the two-possession lead as neither side were able to score over a three-minute stretch before Hileman made a pair at the line. With just over two to play, Nichols drove the left side of the lane and hit a clutch lay-in, as WV State could only manage making one of two at the stripe. After three-point misses by both teams, a wild shot off the backboard fell right to Mikayla Smith for an easy bucket, getting WVSU to within 68-63 with 80 seconds on the clock.
 
With the Yellow Jackets pressing, a scramble to keep possession resulted in Gaskins somehow finding Nichols for a vital left-wing trey. Again WV State couldn't take advantage of a shooting foul, making one and missing one while Gaskins converted both of hers to lead by nine. Spinelli the came up with a huge defensive play, swatting away a shot and grabbing the rebound while getting fouled, also going perfect from the line. A desperation triple gave WVSU a sliver of hope, however Muha went 4-for-4 down the stretch, sealing the 79-69 victory.
 
Muha led all scorers with 23 points on the day, followed closely by Spinelli's 20 and a career-high 19 from Hileman. Spinelli added a game-high nine boards to go with a pair of blocks, while Roman filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 6-6 on the year, while West Virginia State drops to 3-6. FSU will remain on the road as they travel to West Liberty on Wednesday, January 7 at 5:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.