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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WBB2122 Shears, C.
Photo: Todd Griffith
76
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 10-4,6-3 MEC
67
Charleston (WV) UCM 7-6,5-4 MEC
Winner
West Virginia St. WVSt
10-4,6-3 MEC
76
Final
67
Charleston (WV) UCM
7-6,5-4 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 11 24 15 26 76
Charleston (WV) UCM 18 21 15 13 67

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Women’s Basketball upends Charleston for first time since 2018

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's basketball team (10-4, 6-3 MEC) defeated crosstown rivals Charleston (7-6, 5-4 MEC), 76-67, at the Wehrle Innovation Center on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets trailed for 29 minutes of the contest, but grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter and did not let go to notch a win against UC for the first time since 2018.

Charity Shears was West Virginia State's leading scorer with 17 points. Other WVSU scorers in double-figures included ZZ Russell with 11 points along with Alana Kramer and Shelby Harmeyer who each notched 10 points.

The Yellow Jackets fell behind in the opening five minutes, 14-2, with Alana Kramer scoring the lone basket for WVSU. Four three-point shots were knocked down by the Golden Eagles during the stretch to help them to a sizable advantage early on in the contest.

West Virginia State somewhat caught up in the second half of the first quarter by holding UC to just four points with better defensive play. Charity Shears and Shelby Harmeyer combined for nine points in the latter five minutes of the first period to cut the deficit to single-digits, 18-11.

Charleston grew its lead back to double-digits, 28-17, with a 10-6 run in the first three minutes of the second quarter. Then after a minute-long scoring drought, the Yellow Jackets exploded on a 13-2 run over a four-minute period to tie it at 30-apiece. They shot 5-of-5 from the free-throw line and made two three-point field goals while keeping UC from making a single field goal and forcing three turnovers during the tide-turning stretch.

The score remained tied until the final minute of the first half when the Golden Eagles knocked down two jumpers without a response from State. WVSU was subsequently left with a four-point differential, 39-35, to overcome in the second half.

The rivals traded baskets before the first media timeout of the third quarter. The 9-9 even run kept the four-point differential intact, now 48-44 in favor of UC, with five minutes to go in the third stanza.

Scoring was scarce by both sides in the latter half of the third period. The only scoring done by either team from the 6:30-mark until the last minute was a traditional three-point play finished by Charleston's Anastasiia Zakharova. WVSU was then able to score six unanswered, including four points from Kramer, before the Golden Eagles drained a trey just before the buzzer. The four-point differential remained, now 54-50 in favor of UC, after the buzzer-beating basket.

The Yellow Jackets seized the lead for the first time since the opening 30 seconds of the game by scoring eight unanswered to start the fourth quarter. After ZZ Russell sank a floating jumper, West Virginia State was suddenly the side playing with a four-point lead, 58-54. Russell then nailed a three-point shot just before the commercial timeout to push the lead to five, 65-60, with five minutes to go in the game.

WVSU proved to be the better-conditioned team in the closing five minutes of the contest. UC managed to get back within one point, 65-64, with three minutes remaining but did not come any closer. The Yellow Jackets finished the game on an 11-3 run to outlast Charleston and complete the comeback.

West Virginia State made 22-of-25 free throws to register an 88 percent conversion rate compared to a 62 percent free-throw shooting percentage registered by the Golden Eagles.

The Yellow Jackets will be back in Institute for their next game versus West Virginia Wesleyan on Monday, Jan. 24th. The rescheduled MEC matchup will tip-off at 6 p.m. 
 
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