WHEELING, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball team used a strong second and third quarter performance to defeat Point Park in the opening round of the MEC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
 
FSU entered the game as the seven seed in the conference with an overall record of 14-14 and a 9-11 mark in MEC play, while the Pioneers garnered the ten seed at 8-18 overall and 4-16 among the Mountain East.
 
Both sides traded a pair of misses early on, as freshman Zaria Gaskins provided a pair of Bobcat assists to classmate Ella Sabatos and junior Jenna Muha, while PPU countered with a three and a layup to lead 5-4 after three minutes. Muha then scored the next four for Frostburg with a lay-in and a pair at the line, while sophomore Ayla Hileman and redshirt freshman Sophie Nichols also drove the lane, as Point Park responded each step of the way for a 12-12 tie with four minutes left in the period.
 
Over the next three possessions, the Pioneers netted a jumper before Muha answered with a pair of buckets either side of sophomore Laekyn Flinn being found by redshirt sophomore Mandy Roman to go ahead 18-14. PPU swiftly turned things around in the last minute of the frame, getting an and-one opportunity followed by a steal and layup while grabbing an FSU miss and heaving a buzzer-beating three to take a stunning 22-18 advantage into the second.
 
Muha opened things by being found by sophomore Julie Spinelli, while Sabatos grabbed a putback for a basket plus the foul, however a pair of Point Park offensive rebounds led to them staying ahead 26-23. The sides combined for just three field goals over the next four minutes, as the Pioneers hit a mid-range and a triple, while redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson passed to Spinelli with the Bobcat deficit now standing at 31-25.
 
Frostburg's defense keyed an immense turnaround for the final four minutes, holding PPU scoreless while the offense found some firepower. Hileman starting things off with a pull-up jumper, then Nelson fed Nichols for the first FSU trey of the day to pull within one. Muha followed with a putback while Nichols converted an and-one and Flinn went to the lane twice for scores to push Frostburg ahead 39-31 at the break.
 
Hileman continued to pour it on to start the third, finding Spinelli from deep before hitting one of her own off a great pass by Nelson to push the advantage out to 14. Nelson continued to be a provider, finding Sabatos down low for another lay-in, then Spinelli drove baseline and Nichols came up with a steal to get the former out in transition for a 51-31 lead after three and a half minutes. Point Park was finally able to end the 26-0 run on a make from behind the arc before answering a Hileman layup with one of their own.
 
Nichols then split a trip to the line while the Pioneers netted four in a row from the line and a layup to get back within 14. Entering the final three minutes of the period, Flinn restored some confidence after being found by Spinelli, while Nichols made another old-fashioned three-point play. In the last 60 seconds, Flinn bullied in for another basket before finding Spinelli late on, while Point Park made another three to make the score 63-43 going to the fourth.
 
Seeking to keep their season alive, the Pioneers scored the first seven of the final quarter through a free throw and back-to-back threes, pulling the deficit down to 13. Roman and Nichols were able to keep the Frostburg offense afloat with a pair of makes, the latter hitting a tough left-handed shot while getting fouled to go back up 68-52. Only one field goal was made over the next four minutes, as each team went perfect from the line on back-to-back possessions.
 
With now just four minutes left to play, the sides went back-and-forth with neither offense seeming to miss, as Spinelli hit a pair of layups either side of a driving score from Nelson, while the Pioneers paved their way inside twice but still trailed 76-62. Setting up a full-court press, PPU was able to force a pair of Bobcat turnovers, but couldn't manage enough scores out of them, netting just three more baskets the rest of the way in the 78-68 final.
 
Muha led the way for FSU with a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards, while Nichols (16), Spinelli (15), and Flinn (10) each also scored double digits. Nelson dished out a game-high five assists, while Roman added a pair herself and seven rebounds.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 15-14 on the year while Point Park ends their season at 8-19. The Bobcats now advance to face two seed West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday, March 5 at 12 p.m. from WesBanco Arena. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.