Charleston, W. Va – On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles hosted the West Liberty Hilltoppers as they made the trip from the Northern Panhandle down to the Capital City. The Hilltoppers came into this one without a conference loss averaging 81.7 points per game. Charleston was fresh off a weekend 80-68 victory against the Frostburg State Bobcats and sought after another win against another talented MEC squad. 
 
The Basics
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 78, WLU 58
Records: UC (6-2-2, 4-1 MEC), WLU (5-3, 4-1 MEC) 
 
How it Happened
Don't call it a comeback…
 
The first quarter did not go according to plan for the Golden Eagles, as they only managed seven total points in the opening 10 minutes. Charleston shot a devastating 18% (2-11) from the field and added a three pointer. On the other end, the Hilltoppers lit up the arc and fired off four triples to take an early advantage over Charleston. In the first five minutes, West Liberty held a 16-3 lead over the Golden Eagles while also finding points in the interior. Arriana Manzay proved to be a valuable weapon for the Hilltoppers and made her presence known in the early going. West Liberty took a 22-7 lead into the second quarter accompanied with all of the momentum. 
 
Despite Charleston's improved shooting in the second period, the Hilltoppers would not let up. They would go on to shoot 60% from both the field and beyond the arc. Only just a sophomore, Karly McCutcheon led West Liberty on both ends of the court and appeared to play like a veteran for the Hilltoppers. As always, the scoring came from several different Golden Eagles on offense. Markyia McCormick began to find lanes opening up and found shots from mid-range, which meant that Charleston was beginning to find their rhythm; the climb back to a single digit deficit, however, would be a tough one after a nightmare start in the first quarter. West Liberty would hold a 41-28 lead going into the locker room, but their momentum seemed to be dwindling. 
 
We aren't too sure of what head coach Tianni Kelly said in the locker room to her players at half, but it sure seemed to work. 
 
The Golden Eagles came out of the locker room and proceeded to put on a show. Trinity Palacio opened up the scoring in the third quarter with a couple of hard-earned buckets, which was then followed by a Sierra Davis three-pointer. In just four minutes, Charleston went on a 13-5 run to get back to within five points of West Liberty. After continuing to claw back, Abby Lee's triple would tie the game up at 50-50, and Clarissa Francis' layup would give Charleston their first lead of the game. On the other end, the Golden Eagles only allowed nine points in the quarter. Camryn Nadir would hit a jumper just before the horn and extended the lead to 54-50 going into the fourth quarter. 
 
It was almost as if someone hit the rewind button. Charleston came out and extended their lead to 10 just a minute and a half into the quarter. Lee would hit another three-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 12-point lead with 4:47 remaining in the game. Charleston held a 69-58 lead over the Hilltoppers and ended the game with a 9-0 run to take a 78-58 victory in their last home game of 2022. 
 
Up Next
Charleston will follow the Hilltoppers back up to the Northern Panhandle this Saturday to face the Wheeling Cardinals on December 10^th at 2:00 PM.