WHEELING, W. Va- The University of Charleston knocked off the undefeated Pioneers of Glenville State, the current top dogs of Division II and the NCAA.  
 
How it Happened
 
The third time was the charm for the Golden Eagles as they entered the contest with an 0-2 record against the Pioneers on the season. Although it's never easy to be a number one seed in the MEC Basketball tournament, the Pioneers rightfully inherited their title. Glenville State posted a perfect 29-0 record coming into the championship game, while averaging an astounding 97.1 points per game, and holding opponents to just 63 points per game. However, at the end of the day the only stat that matters is who finishes with their name in the win column, and on Sunday it was the Golden Eagles of Charleston who did just that.
 
Charleston had already suffered two losses to the Pioneers during the regular season. Their first loss came by way of a 23-point defeat in Glenville, and their second came at home, where they battled to the bitter end, but came up just short at 74-63.
 
The Pioneers were on an heater entering the championship game, steamrolling Wheeling 105-45 and crushing the Falcons of Notre Dame College 85-69. The Golden Eagles looked to change that right from the opening tip. Where the Pioneers truly dominate is on defense. They led the MEC in steals per game at 14.7 and capitalize well on opponent miscues, crushing opponents in points off turnovers at 33.6 per game. Their full court pressure style defense wreaks havoc on inexperienced offenses and their 5-in-5-out substitutions break down teams physically and mentally. However, the Golden Eagles would have none of that on Sunday afternoon.
 
The ladies were able to deal with the press well throughout the game and the Pioneers were forced to sit back and play solid half court defense. Early in the first quarter the Golden Eagles showcased their ability to break the press and set up Head Coach Tianni Kelly's offense.
 
Markyia McCormick and Trinity Palacio were the spark plugs for the offense on Sunday tallying 19 and 22 points respectively. When the Golden Eagles got into a jam in their back court they relied on McCormick, Palacio, and Zakharova to keep a level head and break the press. They were able to do it effectively and force the hand of Pioneer Head Coach, Kim Stephens.
 
Once Charleston proved they would not turn the ball over easily in their own half, it was about knocking down shots and remaining calm under pressure. No one did that better than the Alexandria, Virginia native, Trinity Palacio. Palacio scooped up MEC Tournament MVP thanks to her performance against the Pioneers. The junior was an brilliant 81.8% from the field, while knocking down her only three in the contest, and going 3-4 from the charity stripe on the evening.
 
Another key contribution came from Clarrissa Francis. The Western Texas College transfer ended her night with nine points but they came at key moments during the game. Twice, the Pioneers attempted to press and knock the ball free from Francis, and twice she made them look silly. The Lubbock native dribbled through the press and drove all the way down the court on two separate occasions, pulling off Steph Curryesque moves en route to her two hard earned buckets under the rim.
 
Dakota Reeves also added key three pointers throughout the contest. The Cincinnati sharpshooter knocked down her first three in the first quarter which put Charleston up 5-4 at the time. Her second three came at the 6:20 mark in the second quarter that cut the Pioneer lead to just one at 27-26. She nailed her third in a huge moment in the fourth quarter as well. The Golden Eagles had extended their lead to as many as seven before it was snatched away in the fourth quarter. With Charleston clinging to just a one-point lead and momentum in the balance, Reeve knocked down a crazy shot from the top of the key as the shot clock buzzer sounded. As the game continued, the Golden Eagles were able to stretch their lead to six at 77-71 with 3:10 left to play. Trinity forced a turnover, got the ball down to Zakharova on the right wing and fired it over to Reeves in the corner. Reeves had her best look of the night and managed to hit the critical long ball to put the Golden Eagles up nine with 2:40 left in regulation.
 
That shot would be the last point made by the Golden Eagles in the game and proved to be the game winning field goal. The Pioneers made it tight late going on a 6-0 run at the end of the game but were unable to overcome the nine-point deficit created with the Reeve's three.
 
Anastasiia Zakharova ended her night with 11 points and 3 rebounds with a single three pointer made by the Moscow, Russia native.
 
The third quarter was and shall forever be known as the "Markyi Show™". At the end of the first half McCormick had just two points but that changed quickly as she exited the locker room. Markyia was a true spark plug for the Golden Eagles in the second half as she tallied 13 points in the third quarter alone. She recorded 11 of the first 14 points in the third quarter, draining three straight long balls and a layup that put the Golden Eagles up by seven at 52-45.
 
Charleston did not turn the ball over a single time in the 20 minutes of the second half, they had nine for the entire contest and shot a stellar 58% from the field during the second half.
 
Coach Tianni Kelly commented after the game saying, "The adversity that we faced to get here was unreal. At one point this season we were eighth in the league and to fight and claw our way back to the second seed and finish the tournament strong was unbelievable."
 
Markyia credited her teammates after the win saying, "I will admit that I was down today because I felt like I wasn't showing up for my team. I went back into the locker room at halftime and my team had my back. They told me to be myself. I knew I had to let go of what had happened in the first half and come out and do what I had to do."
 
Palacio, the tournament MVP, also gave her teammates credit for keeping her head up saying, "These past three days my teammates and my coaches really believed in me. Maybe its taken me a little longer to believe in myself, but knowing they're supporting me and letting me play ball through my mistakes, I think, really helped me perform here.
For Coach Kelly, this is her second straight Mountain East Conference Tournament Title and their play on Sunday earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
 
The tournament will be hosted by Glenville State as they ended play at 29-1 and were top dogs in the NCAA for most of the season.
 
It will be a difficult challenge to go up against the Pioneers on their home court next week, but The Golden Eagles seem poised and ready for the challenge.
 
Tournament Leading Scorer
Jada Marone (NDC, 24.5 ppg)

Commissioner's Heart & Hustle Awards
Zakiyah Winfield (GS)

All-Tournament Team
Sierra Kotcham (FAIR)
Audrey Tingle (WLU)
Jada Marone (NDC)
Dazha Congleton (GS)
Re'Shawna Stone (GS)
Zakiyah Winfield (GS)
Markyia McCormick (UC)
MVP-Trinity Palacio (UC)