Box Score

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Fairmont State held a double-digit lead for much of the contest, yet a run in the final five minutes of play was enough to lift the University of Charleston women's basketball squad past pre-season WVIAC favorite Fairmont State 62-59, Saturday afternoon.

FSU (5-3, 3-1) opened the game hitting what seemed like every shot as a 52 percent share from the floor allowed the Fighting Falcons to take a double-digit lead just four and a half minutes into play. To compound the issues in stopping the Fairmont State offense was an 0-for-13 effort from behind the arc for the Golden Eagles.

Charleston (5-3, 2-2) kept FSU from running away with the game by keeping up the pressure and committing to a great defensive effort. The Golden Eagles forced 12 first half turnovers with Jessi Cowden (Tomball, TX) making the difference defensively with three steals and two blocks. Charleston was out-rebounded by almost double in the opening 20 minutes of play, yet eight of their 18 rebounds came on the offensive glass to make up ground on a 25 percent shooting effort.

After the halftime break UC emerged, as they have many times this season, on fire in the second half. Tianni Kelly (Pickerington, OH) became a major factor on the boards to support Charleston's effort in chipping away at what was a 37-26 halftime deficit.

It took nearly 10 minutes of play, yet Charleston managed to crawl back within reach of Fairmont State which turned up the dial on the Golden Eagle press that completely threw FSU off the game plan that had build a comfortable first half lead. A downpour from behind the arc vaulted the home team back into contention with Cowden drilling a trey at the 10:10 mark to get UC within 50-49. Following the Cowden bucket Kelly pulled down a hard-fought defensive rebound on the other end of the court, which sparked a fast-break the other direction ending in a Chrissy Keir (Savreville, NJ) slash to the basket for Charleston's first lead of the game (51-50).

Fairmont State stayed with the charging Golden Eagles for the next four minutes of play eventually taking another four point advantage with 6:04 left to play. Charleston erased the deficit for the second time on the night with four points in 25 seconds of game clock after a Kayla Dozier (Alpharetta, GA) lay in and a pair of free throws by Keir.

The game held deadlocked at 59-59 for two minutes as both teams went cold from the floor, before Kelly broke through the silence as the beneficiary of an excellent Keir drive and pass down the middle of the lane. The Kelly bucket gave UC a 61-59 advantage, which unknown at the time would become the game winner with 4:19 still remaining in the game.

Both teams were unable to find their touch late, yet Charleston stayed content with the lead running clock and still pressuring the ball on the other end of the court. Keir made a shot from the charity stripe with six clicks to play in order to secure the final score at 62-59 as UC held Fairmont State just over four minutes without a basket.

Charleston ended the second half 7-for-11 from three-point land and forced another 10 Fighting Falcon turnovers leading to the come from behind victory. The commitment to defense accounted for 16 points off turnovers for UC.

LeAnne Ross (Marietta, OH) tallied 15 points including 5-of-6 from the free throw line to lead the University of Charleston effort, while Keir followed just behind with 12 points. Kelly was huge on the boards with a game-high 11 rebounds.

UC stays unbeaten at home, yet gets a quick turnaround with a home contest against WVIAC opponent Davis & Elkins on Monday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 pm.