INSTITUTE, W.Va- The UC Women's Basketball team traveled right down the road to West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon to take on the Yellow Jackets in a big rivalry game. The 67-61 win would secure the No. 2 seed for the Golden Eagles in the upcoming Mountain East Conference Basketball tournament held in Wheeling, West Virginia.
 
THE BASICS
Location: Institute, W. Va
Score: UC- 67 WVSU- 61
Records: Charleston (18-8, 16-6 MEC) WV State (17-10, 13-9 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Golden Eagles would begin the game going down one but immediately regaining the lead with a Dakota Reeves three on the next possession. The Yellow Jackets would go up by as many as 8 during the quarter before UC went on a 10-0 run to end the quarter, outscoring State 17-15 in the quarter.
 
They began the second quarter on a 9 point run that got started with another three by Dakota. With 1:41 remaining in the quarter Markyia McCormick drove for a layup to give the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the day at 38-26. The half ended with Charleston up 11 at 39-28 over their cross town rivals.
 
The Golden Eagles began their second half with a layup and a jumper made back to back by Trinity Palacio and Markyia McCormick. State would begin to gather some momentum and cut the UC lead to just 5 by the end of quarter number three. A foul at the end of the third by Sierra Davis would net the Yellow jackets another layup to make it 51-46 with just one period left to play.
 
With MEC Tournament seeding hanging in the balance, Charleston got off to a slow start in the fourth. Shelby Harmeyer would make a midrange jumper with 6:01 left to make it 53-51 Charleston. Dakota Reeves would drain yet another three to give the Golden Eagles a 5-point cushion. At the 2:57 mark Ansastasiia Zakharova added a layup that would be the last scoring for over a minute by both sides. State finally got on the board after a foul by Sierra Davis that netted State's Charity Shears two free throws. The Yellow Jackets desperately tried to get back into the game with a series of fouls but the 6-point lead with under a minute to play would hold for Charleston. Maggie Stephenson came up with a big block on a Yellow Jacket three that would prove to be the dagger for Charleston.
 
The win propelled UC to a No. 2 seed in the MEC tournament behind undefeated Glenville State.
 
Up Next
The ladies return to action on Wednesday in the Mountain East Conference Championship held at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, WV.