CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The University of Charleston edged Fairmont State, 63-61, in Mountain East Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Eddie King Gymnasium in Charleston.

The loss drops Fairmont State to 14-4 overall and 8-4 in the MEC. Charleston took both games against the Falcons this season and improve to 14-4 overall and 9-3 in the league.

Charleston sophomore Monet Saunders scored a game and career high 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to record a double-double for the Golden Eagles. Senior guard LeAnne Ross also reached double figures for UC with 10 points and eight rebounds.  Ross's 10 points leaves her just two points shy of the 1,000 points for her career.

Emily Puskarich led the Falcons with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and knocked down 8-of-12 field goal attempts on the afternoon. Senior Hailey Garrett chipped in 16 points and Emily Lohr had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in the game.

Both teams shot just over 40 percent from the field in the game and the teams combined for just four missed free throws. The Falcons knocked down six three-pointers and drained 13-of-14 free throws in the narrow loss. UC was just 3-of-11 from behind the arc in the victory. Charleston had a six rebound advantage (34-28) and one less turnover (16-15) than the Falcons.

The Falcons jumped all over Charleston early by opening up a 13-0 lead and forcing a timeout at the 16:53 mark of the first half. Puskarich knocked down a trio of three-pointers during the opening stretch of the game for the Falcons. Although they never led in the first half, UC quickly cut the lead back to single digits and were as close as four with 28 second remaining in the half before Garrett drilled a jumper from the top of the key to send the game to the locker room with FSU leading 35-29.

With FSU holding a 48-45 lead at the 10:34 mark of the second half, UC went on a 10-2 run over a four minute stretch to take just its second lead of the game at 55-50. After a 30-second timeout by the Falcons, FSU went on a 9-0 (all of which were scored at the foul line) to jump ahead 59-55 with just over four minutes remaining.

After a UC timeout, Saunders cut the margin in half after a layup on the third shot attempt of the possession for the Golden Eagles. On the next possession, a three by Fairmont State rimmed-out and Ross was fouled at the opposite end and knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 59-59 apiece with 2:51 remaining.

Lohr gave the Falcons another two-point lead on the opposite end from the line before Saunders went 4-of-4 from the line in the final 1:11 to give UC the 63-61 victory. Puskarich attempted a three with just four seconds remaining that would have given the Falcons the win but it was short and UC held on for the win.

The last field goal of the game for either team was at the 3:19 mark of the second half and the teams combined for just 16 field goals in the low-scoring second half.

Charleston travels to Shepherd Thursday to face the Rams for the second time this season.  Their previous meeting resulted in a 76-80 loss for the Golden Eagles.