INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Women's Basketball returned to action Wednesday, outlasting Mountain East Conference foe Notre Dame College 64-62 in Walker Convocation Center.
WVSU moves to 8-3 on the season and 4-2 in MEC play, while NDC slips to 7-6 overall and drops their second conference game of the year, moving to 6-2.
The win was also the first for State over Notre Dame since 2016, snapping a nine-game losing streak against the Falcons.
The Yellow Jackets were led by a trio of double-digit scorers, topped by junior forward Destiny Field's 14. Senior Charity Shears tallied 12, and fellow junior Hannah Shriver turned in 11.
Defensively, freshman Emyah Fortenberry was a force for State, hauling in five rebounds while posting three blocks and also achieving three steals. Junior Shelby Harmeyer pulled in a team-best six boards.
The Yellow Jackets tallied 40 points in the paint, and finished the game shooting nearly 40% from the floor (39.4, 26-66).
It was a close contest to begin the first quarter, but State gained control early on a three-pointer from Harmeyer and remained in the lead for the duration of the frame.
The Yellow Jackets led by four points at a 12-9 mark on a layup from Shears, and then built their biggest lead of the quarter at 18-11 on back-to-back treys from Shears and Shriver.
After a Fields layup opened the second quarter, the Falcons worked to trim the deficit, going on a 13-0 run to take the lead at 24-20 with just under five minutes remaining in the half.
A layup from sophomore Caroline Scott followed by a jumper from Fortenberry tied the contest at 24-24, and the Yellow Jackets tallied five consecutive points to take a 29-24 lead into halftime.
State maintained control as the third quarter got underway, outshooting Notre Dame on a 9-6 run to build a 38-30 advantage. Back-to-back three pointers for the Falcons trimmed the Yellow Jackets' lead to just two points and continued to pressure, keeping the gap to within no more than four points for the duration of the quarter.
State headed into the final frame with a narrow 48-46 lead, quickly adding to it with a trey from Shears and a pair of free throws from sophomore Alana Kramer. A three from classmate ZZ Russell followed by a layup from Fields aided the Yellow Jackets with some cushion, pushing WVSU to a 57-51 mark with 6:20 remaining on the clock.
Nine consecutive points from the Falcons pushed Notre Dame into the lead at 60-59. After a pair of free throws had Notre Dame threatening at 63-61, a perfectly timed layup from Fields put State back in command once more, narrowly leading 63-62. The Yellow Jackets' fate was then sealed after a free throw from Shriver with fourteen seconds left.
UP NEXT
WVSU returns to the road, traveling to Philippi, W.Va., to face Mountain East Conference member Alderson Broaddus Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m., with live stats and video available.
