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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WBB2324 Russell
Photo: Sam Santilli
64
Notre Dame (OH) NDOH 11-19,6-14 MEC
77
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 20-9,14-6 MEC
Notre Dame (OH) NDOH
11-19,6-14 MEC
64
Final
77
West Virginia St. WVSt
20-9,14-6 MEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Notre Dame (OH) NDOH 11 18 16 19 64
West Virginia St. WVSt 26 16 23 12 77

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

Yellow Jackets advance to semifinals with win over Notre Dame College

WHEELING, W.Va. – No. 2-seeded West Virginia State women's basketball (20-9, 14-6 MEC) faced No. 10-seeded Notre Dame College (11-19, 6-14 MEC) in the quarterfinals of the MEC Championship Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets pulled away from the Falcons early in the first quarter and never let up to come away with a 77-64 victory.

State advances to the semifinals with the win. The Yellow Jackets will take on the winner of No. 3-seeded Frostburg State and No. 6-seeded Concord at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

ZZ Russell led State in scoring with 16 points. Emyah Fortenberry was one rebound short of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards. Shelby Harmeyer also recorded 15 points, shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range.

WVSU wasted no time taking the lead with a 10-2 run in the opening five minutes. Russell made all three of her free throws after being fouled while shooting from behind the arc. Harmeyer completed a three-point play after knocking down a jumper.

The Yellow Jackets then outscored NDC by a 16-9 margin in the last five minutes of the first quarter. Ashley Kerekes and Fortenberry led the way with five and four points respectively. Kerekes drained a triple and a hit a jumper while Fortenberry banked a layup and sank a pair of free throws. State gained a 15-point advantage, 26-11, going into the second period.

The Falcons were slightly better than WVSU in the second quarter, winning the 10-minute period by a score of 18-16. Harmeyer dropped in back-to-back treys in the first two minutes before Notre Dame went on a 15-8 run to close the gap to 11 points, 40-29, with a minute to go. Hannah Shriver's two free throws were the only points scored by either team in the last minute to give State a 13-point lead, 42-29, at halftime.

NDC kept the momentum going into the second half and cut the lead to single-digits, 49-40, around the five-minute mark of the third quarter. The game-defining run then occurred over the next five minutes with the Yellow Jackets outscoring the Falcons by a 16-5 margin. Imani Reid and ZZ Russell both made a three-pointer before Harmeyer made two treys in a row. The flurry of threes left WVSU with a 20-point cushion, 65-45, going into the final period.

The closest that the Falcons came to catching back up in the fourth quarter was a 13-point differential, 75-62, with 1:24 remaining in the contest. Emily Anthony then sank a couple of shots from the charity stripe before Notre Dame made one last layup to give the game its final score.
 
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