CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The University of Charleston Golden Eagles used a deadly shooting first half to propel them to a 97-76 win over the visiting Pioneers from Glenville State College on Saturday at the Eddie King Gymnasium.

Charleston was paced by LeAnne Ross on the offensive end, scoring 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting and connected on five of her seven three-point attempts.  Chipping in 17 points was Nichole Perry who also added six rebounds and five assists to her all around game.  The bench played a big part in UC's impressive closeout of the first half as Padyn Ludewig scored all 11 of her points in the first 20 minutes and Ashley Milligan had eight of her 14 points before halftime. Both were career-highs for Ludewig and Milligan in the scoring column.

The Golden Eagles were unconscious in the first half from the field connecting on 19 of 25 shots and hit on eight of their 10 tries from behind the arc.  That hot shooting carried UC, who once trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, to a 53-38 lead at the break.  Looking at 22-29 deficit with 8:30 remaining in the half, Charleston went on a 31 to nine run heading into the break.  

Charleston quickly pushed the lead out to 20 and kept the pedal to the medal throughout the final 20 minutes, building their biggest lead of 32, 81-49, after a Deja Gibson layup with 9:11 left to play.  Glenville whittled the lead down late in the game to a 19-point deficit after Charleston had pulled their regulars but UC would still prevail with a 20 plus point win with the scoreboard showing 97-76 when the clock hit zero.

The Pioneers Keyanna Tate had a strong game in the losing effort scoring 19 points  and adding five rebounds.  The loss takes Glenville to 11-10 overall and 9-8 in Mountain East play.  Charleston, who have won 16 of their last 18 home games dating back to last season, gets their 18th win of the season and improve to 13-4 in the MEC.  

UC remains in a four-way tie at the top of Mountain East heading into Thursday's road contest against Concord. Tip-off is set for 5:30 in Athens, W.Va.