Box Score Wheeling, W. Va – For the third consecutive season, the Charleston Golden Eagles would meet the Glenville State Pioneers in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship. Despite Glenville State's national title run a season ago, Charleston has taken each matchup in the tournament final the last two seasons, making this their second title-defending tournament. With regional hopes on the line, this was a must-win for Charleston.
The Basics
Location: WesBanco Arena
Score: UC 59, GSU 76
Records: UC (23-8, 18-7 MEC), CU (29-2, 21-2 MEC)
How it Happened
Glenville State would win the opening tip-off and find the first points of the ball game that would then be matched by a Haley Moore layup less than a minute into the game. Glenville State loves to put pressure on the inbound pass; Fairmont State would learn this the hard way in the semifinal round. Charleston put the ball in play with ease and found the lead with a 7-2 run that gave them a 9-4 lead with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter. The Pioneers were unable to find rhythm on offense, but they were able to find five points on second efforts underneath the basket. A Dream Cherry triple would bring the game to a one-point Charleston lead with 3:57 left in the quarter. Jamia Nesmith would contribute to Glenville State's foul troubles early on by drawing fouls and she would go a perfect 2-2 from the line with just over two minutes on the clock. Charleston found seven unanswered points as time winded down and found themselves with a 21-12 advantage heading into the second quarter of play.
Markyia McCormick found the opening points of the second period with a soft touch off the glass on a driving layup. The Golden Eagles forced many bad shot attempts out of the Pioneers as they scrambled to claw back to a manageable deficit, but Charleston continued to roll on the other end and find points. Seven points separated the two teams at the media timeout with Charleston with all the momentum at a 28-21 lead. The Pioneers began to claw back by forcing turnovers on the inbound passes from Charleston and got to within one with 3:33 remaining in the half. Despite Palacio's jump shot on the other end, we would have a tied game at 30-30 after Mickayla Perdue hit a big-time triple at the three-minute mark. Nesmith would break the tie with two consecutive layups in the final minute of the game and Charleston would take a 34-32 lead into the locker room.
On the first possession of the second half, the Pioneers would find their second lead of the game after a Skyla Haywood triple that gave them the 35-34 lead. McCormick would take it right back after backing down in the paint for a hard-earned two points. The lead would then be up for grabs as the two teams would find multiple points on each of their possessions. At the 5:34 mark, the game remained tied at 41-41. The Pioneers would break the tie and score five unanswered points, causing Tianni Kelly to take a timeout with 4:32 remaining in the quarter. The timeout would help set up a play for Maggie Stephenson to take it to basket and lay it up and in for the two points, but the Pioneers would connect on another wide-open three to take a 43-49 lead. Turnovers would haunt Charleston throughout the third quarter, giving way for Glenville State to make easy shots and work their way to a 43-56 lead with 1:40 left in the quarter. Clarrissa Francis would lead the charge after checking into the game and hitting two consecutive layups, but the Pioneers would take a 60-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
Another turnover would start the quarter for Charleston and the Pioneers capitalized with a quick layup and a triple a minute later for a 65-47 lead. Reeves would end the scoreless drought for Charleston with a shot from beyond the arc to cut the lead to 15 points. The Golden Eagles held their own defensively but could not find any rhythm on offense and would find themselves down 65-50 at the media timeout with 4:52 remaining. Charleston would rally back to get within nine points of the Pioneers, but that's when Glenville State's scoreless streak would snap with a layup from Cherry to get back to a double-digit lead with less than two minutes remaining. Glenville State would hang on and take the Mountain East Conference Title with a 76-59 victory over the Golden Eagles.
Up Next
Charleston will await their fate with the NCAA Selection Show at 10:30 tonight to see if they will move on to the NCAA Regional Playoffs.
