Box Score

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Erika Rousculp (Worthington, OH) continued her early season dominance of the glass grabbing 17 rebounds to go along with 13 points for a double-double effort in a 76-67 women's basketball upset win against visiting West Liberty, Thursday night.

Charleston (3-3, 2-1) took the opening lead off a Chrissy Keir (Savreville, NJ) layup one minute into the contest and never looked back. The Golden Eagles tough man defense forced West Liberty into uncharacteristic turnovers as they built a 10 point advantage mid-way through the opening half. The Hilltoppers (6-3, 3-1) made a late charge to close the half getting within seven points with three minutes remaining. Charleston responded with a Rousculp tip-in followed by Lauren Davis (Cincinnati, OH) nailing a pair of free-throws to set the halftime score at 44-33.

Rousculp and post-partner Kali Cuttaia (Eden, NC) dominated the paint to outscore the visitors 26-6 in the opening stanza. The second half offered little reprieve for the Hilltoppers as the Golden Eagles ran out to a quick 17 point advantage. WLU eventually chipped away at the lead by hitting outside shots, yet five points would be as close as they could pull.

UC regained it composure against the West Liberty press defense and found fast-break points easier to come by with Davis and Keir exploiting open lanes to eventually run the home advantage to 11 points with under a minute to play. Davis booked the final points of the night from the charity stripe to set the score at 76-67.

Davis paced the homestanding Golden Eagles with 17 points, 15 of which came from the foul line. Keir and Tiffany Scott (Ottawa Lake, MI) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Charleston with 12 points, each. Cuttaia joined Rousculp in running the rebounds with 10 to go along with seven points.

The University of Charleston shot just 38 percent to West Liberty's 36 percent, but held a significant advantage at the foul line. UC hit 25-of-34 free throws compared to just 4-of-10 by the Hilltoppers.

Rousculp and company hit the road for their next contest with a trip to WVIAC opponent Alderson-Broaddus on Saturday, Dec. 3 with tipoff set for 5:15 pm. Live audio coverage of the contest against the Battlers will be available here at www.ucgoldeneagles.com