Institute, W. Va – Charleston would make the short trip to the campus of West Virginia State University to face the Yellow Jackets. The Golden Eagles won the previous meeting at home in a thrilling double-overtime victory in front of a jam-packed crown in the Wehrle Innovation Center.
The Basics
Location: Walker Convocation Center
Score: UC 37, WVSU 84
Records: UC 18-10 (13-7 MEC), WVSU 19-9 (14-6 MEC)
How it Happened
From opening tip to the final buzzer in the fourth quarter, the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets dominated all four quarters in their home arena. Charleston would find just 3-12 of their shots to fall in the opening quarter while the Yellow Jackets found 15 points on the offensive end of the court. In the second quarter, it would be a 17-0 run for the Yellow Jackets to begin the quarter that stunned the Charleston faithful. The Golden Eagles would score just two points from Paris Stoke midway through the period and shoot 10% from the field, while West Virginia State had extended their lead with 22 points scored accompanied by a 53% conversion rate from the floor. Destiny Field would convert two free throws at the line for the Yellow Jackets to give her squad the 37-9 lead heading into the halftime break.
Charleston would formulate offense in the second half, hitting nearly half of their shots throughout the quarter, but the Yellow Jackets would keep the ball rolling with their explosive play. They would drain four three-pointers in the quarter and outscore the Golden Eagles 24-17, taking a 61-26 advantage into the final quarter of play. Down by 35 points, it would be too large of a mountain to climb for Charleston as they would not be able to overcome the deficit over their cross-town rival. The Yellow Jackets would go on to outscore Charleston once again 23-11 and took the 84-37 victory at home.
Up Next
Charleston will go into the Mountain East Conference Tournament as the 4
th seed. They'll face the 5
th seed Wheeling Cardinals in the Quarterfinal Round next Thursday on March 7
th at 8:30 PM.
