West Virginia Wesleyan scored the first two points of the game but it was all West Virginia State University after that as the Yellow Jackets earned a 97-87 victory over the Bobcats Saturday afternoon at the Walker Convocation Center.
 
"It feels amazing to win," State coach Charles Marshall said. "I am just happy for my girls. We have had a different energy and look to the team. It was good for our kids. Scoring has been one of our main struggles. We had four kids in double figures, and that is huge."
 
With the victory, State improves to 5-17 overall and 4-12 in the Mountain East Conference. The Yellow Jackets move into a tie with the Bobcats (4-15, 4-12) for ninth place in league play.
 
State got good balance with four players in double figures, led byLyrin Hatcher with 18 points – followed by Charity Shears (14), Chloe Cheresne (13), and Kalia Cunningham (11).
 
Hatcher posted a double-double with 15 rebounds to go along with her 18 points. The sophomore was all over the boards, especially on the offensive end of the floor, totaling seven off the glass. It was her 3rd straight game with double-double, tieing the amount of double-double from her freshman year.
 
"Lyrin wanted the ball," Marshall said. "She is just so athletic and can just go up and get rebounds, and take it from people. She is a monster. I'm glad she is a sophomore.
 
Cheresne and Cunningham provided State with quality minutes off the bench. The two came into the game averaging just 2.2 and 2.6 points a game respectively, but combined for 24 points. The Yellow Jacket bench scored 53 of the team's 97 points.
 
"I'm so happy for Chloe," Marshall said. "Today she played phenomenal and is only going to get better. Kalia missed a lot of preseason and first half of the season due to medical issues. She was huge for us tonight."
 
The 2-0 lead for the Bobcats was the only lead they would have the entire game as State took the lead and led for the rest of game, totaling 39:11, opposed to just 48 seconds for Wesleyan.
 
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 17-6 midway through the first quarter before settling for a 21-14 lead entering the second quarter. State led 47-41 at halftime.
 
Wesleyan made a run in the third quarter and cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 59-58 with 3:48 remaining but State closed out the period on a 11-4 run to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Bobcats tried to make one last push, cutting the State lead down to six points at 83-77 with 3:18 remaining but once again, the Yellow Jackets were too strong down the stretch to earn the win 
 
 The Yellow Jackets next game is Thursday, February 14, 2019 against West Liberty. Tip Off is 5:30 pm