INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State's women's basketball team scored 48 points in the second half and stepped up their defense to hold Frostburg State to just 35 points enroute to an 85-79 victory over the Bobcats on Saturday inside the Walker Convocation Center. State forced 10 Frostburg State turnovers in the final 20 minutes of the game while only committing three turnovers. State ended the game with a plus-15 turnover margin, 26-11.

State advances to 4-3 on the season, 2-2 in the Mountain East Conference. Frostburg State drops to 4-3 and suffers their first conference loss, falling to 3-1 in MEC play.

ZZ Russell led the attack with 17 points for WVSU. Emyah Fortenberry picked up her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards. Imani Reid also was in double-figures with 10 points. 

Hannah Shriver broke the school record for career assists in the game. She now has 394 assists in her career, breaking Aurreshae Hines's previous mark of 391 from 2018. Shriver also contributed seven points, six assists, and three steals with her four assists.

Emilee Weakley led all scorer's for Frostburg State with 27 points, 18 in the first half. 

Destiny Fields opened the scoring for State on a driving layup on the first possession of the game. A Frostburg State jumper was sandwiched between a Caroline Scott layup and an Ashley Davis trey, 7-2. Another Scott layup extended the lead to 9-2. Frostburg State went on a 6-0 run to close to within a point, but Davis re-extended the lead back to four points. Both teams went cold from the field for a little over three minutes. The Bobcats hit a layup but then State scored seven straight with Ashley Kerekes stroking a long one, followed by a Scott layup and two more points from Kerekes. Frostburg ended the quarter on a 6-2 run to only allow State to have a three point lead after ten minutes.

Scoring was at a premium in the second quarter. Frostburg State hit their first bucket a little over a minute into the frame, while State's first points came two-and-a-half minutes in, courtesy of a Reid pull-up jumper. Scott nailed a long distance shot with six-and-a-half to play in the period, 27-22. A 6-0 run by Frostburg gave them the lead followed by a Jordan bomb to State up by two, 30-28. An 8-0 run by Frostburg gave them the lead for the rest of the quarter. Shelby Harmeyer rimmed a trey with ten seconds left. She got her own rebound, but State couldn't get another shot off before the break. State went into the break down seven points, 44-37.

Shriver ripped a three right out of the halftime break leading to each team trading baskets for the next three minutes. Anysa Jordan hit a jumper just before the under five timeout to trim the lead to four, but Frostburg responded on the next possession with 4:56 showing on the clock. Frostburg State didn't score for the rest of the quarter, but layups by Fields and Fortenberry, a triple from Davis and another Fortenberry layup to close out the quarter, put State ahead 60-57. 

A Russell layup put State up by two possessions. Frostburg State managed to briefly close to three points, but Kerekes responded by drilling a long one, 67-61. Another long-range shot by Frostburg trimmed the lead to two points, but another timely three, this time by Russell put the Yellow Jackets up by two possessions. The under five media timeout came with 3:27 to play and State was clinging to a three-point lead. The final three minutes came down to foul shooting and State sunk their shots to maintain the lead when the horn blew for the final time. 

WVSU will welcome in the Wheeling Cardinals for a mid-week showdown on Wednesday, December 6th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm.