INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Women's Basketball fell Wednesday in a Mountain East Conference matchup, falling 95-88 to Alderson Broaddus in Walker Convocation Center.
State slips to 17-7 on the year and 13-6 in MEC action, while the Battlers move above .500 at 12-11 overall and are now 9-10 in the league. It was their ever contest in Walker.
Senior Destiny Fields led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 15 points, nearly eclipsing a double-double with eight rebounds. Sophomore ZZ Russell tallied 14 points, while senior Charity Shears and junior Shelby Harmeyer each chipped in 13.
It was a back-and-forth affair during the first two frames, as the two squads traded leads and neither could build momentum during the half.
State used a 5-0 scoring run to tie the contest and take the lead at 18-17 with 1:16 left on the clock in the first quarter, including a free throw and a layup from Scott.
Back-to-back layups from sophomore Caroline Scott and junior Ashley Davis ended the frame, with WVSU leading by a pair at 22-20.
The cat-and-mouse continued as the second quarter commenced, with both the Yellow Jackets and the Battlers continuing to trade points.
A trey from Harmeyer tied things up at 33-33 with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The closely contest battled continued as Payton Shears delivered a layup ties things again at 39-39 with just over a minute and a half.
A three from P. Shears followed by a jumper from Fields closed out the half for State, sending them into the locker room with some cushion at 44-39.
AB was shooting at nearly 69% from the floor during the half and ended at a 64% clip, despite State's lead. Fields was the lone double-digit scorer for WVSU with 10 points in the half, but 10 different Yellow Jackets scored during the first two quarters.
The Battlers opened the second half with a 10-0 scoring drive over three and a half minutes of possession, tying the contest once more and taking control at 49-46. AB added to their lead with another run, logging five consecutive points to go up 54-48 with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter.
After back-to-back layups for the Battlers continued to build their lead, State began to trim the deficit, using a pair of free throws from Charity Shears to cut the lead to six at 58-52.
The Battlers reached their highest lead of the contest at the time as the third quarter came to a close, up by 10 at 64-54.
AB continued to lead as the game entered the final frame, but a layup followed almost immediately by a trey from Russell narrowed the Battlers' margin to just four points at 70-66. The threat was short-lived, as the Battlers built a 14-point advantage at 83-69 with just under four minutes left in the duration of the contest.
With less than a minute to go, State continued to pressure as a C. Shears three brought the score to 88-81 in favor of the Battlers. A trey from Harmeyer followed by a Hannah Shriver layup helped the Yellow Jackets continue to climb back, limiting the deficit to just four points at 92-88.
The Battlers went on to secure the victory 95-88.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets return to the road Saturday, heading to South Euclid, Ohio, to face Mountain East Conference foe Notre Dame. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., with live stats and video available. State edged out the Falcons in their first meeting, a 66-62 victory in early January.
