PHILIPPI, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University women's basketball team won in convincing fashion over Alderson Broaddus on Saturday afternoon, 121-88. The road win included junior guard Charity Shears breaking the WVSU record for career three-point field goals. Her second of five made three-pointers surpassed Rachel Ward's (2013-17) previous school record of 173.

WVSU improves to 1-3 in the Mountain East Conference with the win, while AB drops to 1-3 in the MEC with the loss.

Along with setting a new career mark for three-point field goals made, Charity Shears dropped in a game-high 31 points. She had six steals to boot. Five other Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures including ZZ Russell (15), Alexis Hall (14), Destiny Fields (14), Payton Shears (13), and Kalia Cunningham (10). Fields was on the precipice of a triple-double as she led the squad in both steals (7) and rebounds (6).

West Virginia State dictated the tempo of the game in the first quarter. Alderson Broaddus struggled to deal with the press, turning the ball over 16 times. The Battlers made a high percentage of their shots to keep the game close, however. Cunningham scored the last two points of the opening period to give the Yellow Jackets a three-point lead, 26-23.

The pace of play became an even bigger factor in the second quarter. WVSU continued to force turnovers and score points off those turnovers. Through the first 20 minutes, West Virginia State scored 30 points off the Battlers' 26 turnovers.The Yellow Jackets made exactly half of their attempted field goals in the first half to end up with a 16-point advantage at the break, 61-45.

WVSU did not let off the gas in the third quarter. Breakaway layups by the Yellow Jackets were commonplace as Alderson Broaddus struggled to keep up. The contest was nearly out of reach going into the final period with West Virginia State in front, 92-67.

The fourth quarter was almost a formality. Nevertheless, the Yellow Jackets showed that they can successfully run their system for the full 40 minutes. They nearly tied the school record for most points in a game (123) by the time it was all said-and-done while holding the Battlers to under 90 points.

West Virginia State did in fact tie a school record for most steals in a game with 29. The record was set last year versus West Virginia Wesleyan. In comparison, Alderson Broaddus came up with two steals as a team.

The major difference between the first victory of the season for WVSU and the previous three defeats was a significant improvement in shooting percentage. The Yellow Jackets shot 48 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three-point range against AB.

West Virginia State will remain on the road for their next game at West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The tip is scheduled for 5 p.m.