INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's basketball team faced the second-best team in the Mountain East Conference, Notre Dame College, on Saturday afternoon at the Walker Convocation Center and came up just short, 84-76.
West Virginia State drops to 9-17 overall, 7-13 in the MEC with the loss. Regardless, the Yellow Jackets have already punched their ticket to the 2020 MEC Tournament. On the other hand, Notre Dame jumps to 23-3 on the season and 17-3 in the MEC with the win.
Sophomore guard Charity Shears led her team in scoring with 22 points. She shot 6-of-10 from three-point range. Both Erin Whitehead and Hannah Shriver posted 12 points to follow suit. Whitehead also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Alexis Hall was the fourth Yellow Jacket to score in double-digits with 11 points.
The opening five minutes of the game was played evenly. The last five minutes of the first quarter was an entirely different story, though.
West Virginia State exploded on a 19-2 run to close out the first period. Madison Riley kicked it off with a three-pointer. Charity Shears added fuel to the fire towards the tail-end with back-to-back treys. Finally, Hannah Shriver finished it off with another shot from behind the arc that put the Yellow Jackets up by 13 points, 29-16.
Scoring by the Yellow Jackets was curtailed in the second quarter. The Falcons outscored West Virginia State, 27-12. A layup made by Notre Dame at the halftime buzzer gave the Falcons a two-point edge, 43-41.
Notre Dame owned the first five minutes of the second half with a 15-6 run. West Virginia State then battled back with 12 unanswered points that put the Yellow Jackets back in front, 59-58, with two minutes remaining in the third period. The Falcons hit a trio of shots in those remaining two minutes to take a five-point advantage, 65-60, into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, Notre Dame simply clung to its previously established lead. Charity Shears knocked down three shots from downtown, but it still wasn't enough to climb back in the contest.
The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Flacons, 41-38, in spite of the defeat. West Virginia State was also better from three-point range, shooting 46 percent compared to 32 percent by Notre Dame.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to Concord for their next game on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
