JOHNSTOWN, PA. – In their first road game of the young season, West Virginia State Women's Basketball improved to 3-0 on the season, outlasting Pitt-Johnstown 61-55 at the Sports Center.

Current Mountain East Conference Player of the Week Hannah Shriver continued to shine on the floor, leading the Yellow Jackets with 10 points while adding three assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. Shriver also remains perfect from the free throw line this season.

Senior Charity Shears, junior Shelby Harmeyer and sophomore ZZ Russell each added eight points.

The first half was a tale of two quarters. State broke out into a steady lead in the first quarter, limiting the Mountain Cats to just two points for nearly the first seven minutes of the frame. Shears, Russell, and Harmeyer each pulled off a three-pointer in the run, finishing the quarter with an 18-9 lead.

Pitt-Johnstown quickly narrowed the gap to start  the second quarter, using a three and a jumper for a quick five points and cutting State's lead to 18-14.  Back-to-back jumpers from Destiny Fields and Alana Kramer, followed by a trey by Caroline Scott, all within one minute of play, pushed WVSU to a 25-14 advantage.

Over the next three minutes, the Mountain Cats clawed back to within one basket at 27-25 after an 11-2 run. The Yellow Jackets' lone points came from a layup from Shriver.

WVSU responded by rebuilding their lead to nine points over the final three minutes of the half, on a pair of jump shots from Alexis Hall and Payton Shears, both assisted by sister Charity, and a layup and free throw from Russell to finish the frame 34-25.

Pitt-Johnstown continued to threaten, holding State to just nine points in the third quarter and trimming the lead to 43-42.

A Charity Shears three led off the fourth quarter that spurred an 8-2 run from the Yellow Jackets as Harmeyer and Fortenberry each drained shots to build a 51-44 lead for State with 8:08 on the clock.

WVSU stayed in control for the remainder of regulation, as Shriver, P. Shears, Fortenberry, and Fields all made good on shots in the final minutes of play.

Payton Shears and Fortenberry each finished with five points, adding three and two steals, respectively.

UP NEXT
State begins conference action, heading to Concord Tuesday, November 23 for a matinee contest at 2 p.m.