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West Virginia State University Athletics

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Photo: Todd Griffith
79
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 11-2,6-2 MEC
69
West Va. Wesleyan WVW 1-11,0-8 MEC
Winner
West Virginia St. WVSt
11-2,6-2 MEC
79
Final
69
West Va. Wesleyan WVW
1-11,0-8 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 24 20 16 19 79
West Va. Wesleyan WVW 19 11 16 23 69

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

WVSU wins fifth-straight game on the road against Wesleyan

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – West Virginia State women's basketball (11-2, 6-2 MEC) was victorious for the fifth-straight game with a 79-69 defeat of West Virginia Wesleyan (1-10, 0-8 MEC) on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets held onto the lead for over 37 minutes while the Bobcats spent only 30 seconds with the edge.

Senior forward Destiny Fields was the clear standout performer for WVSU with a team-leading 23 points in 23 minutes played. She shot 10-of-15 from the floor and made both of her three-point field goal attempts. Fields also grabbed six boards and swiped four steals. Classmate Ashley Davis connected on 3-of-4 three-pointers on her way to nine points while sophomore Emyah Fortenberry came down with a team-high 13 rebounds.

The first quarter was defined by two runs from each team. The first run was made by State and lasted just over two minutes. The Yellow Jackets shot 5-of-5 from the field, and 3-of-3 from three-point range, on a 13-4 run. Fields, Davis and ZZ Russell all knocked down shots from behind the arc to give WVSU a 15-8 advantage with five minutes remaining in the opening period.

Wesleyan then embarked on a 10-3 run over the next three minutes to tie the score at 18-apiece. Alana Kramer then hit a jumper to keep the Bobcats from pulling in front. Imani Reid and Latifat Olatunji each made layups down the stretch with a single free throw made by WVWC in between to place the score at 24-19 in favor of State going into the second quarter.

The second period was where the Yellow Jackets started to pull away. The Bobcats went cold as they only managed to make four baskets while turning the rock over eight times. They also missed all five of their shots from beyond the arc to fall desperately behind.

Meanwhile, WVSU shot 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point land to leave a huge gap between the two sides. The Yellow Jackets drained eight buckets, including four treys, during the second stanza to take a 14-point cushion, 44-30, into halftime.

The dominant second-quarter performance by State proved to be critical as Wesleyan began to pick up some momentum in the second half. The third quarter was played to a 16-all split with WVSU hanging onto its 14-point cushion, 60-46, gained in the second period.

The Yellow Jackets remained comfortably in the lead up until around the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. At that point, the Bobcats went on a 10-4 run that closed the gap to 10 points, 76-66, with just over a minute left to play. WVWC resorted to fouling, but did not make a shot other than a last-second three-pointer that gave the game its final score, 79-69.

West Virginia State did a superb job defending the perimeter to come away with another win. Wesleyan shot 4-of-20 from downtown while WVSU made 9-of-26 three-point attempts.

Sitting in second place in the MEC standings, and ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region, the Yellow Jackets will make the long trek to Notre Dame College next on Wednesday, Jan. 11th. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

 
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