Wheeling, W.Va. – #3 Charleston defeated #7 Frostburg State on Semifinal Saturday at the Mountain East Conference Tournament.
 
 
The Basics:
Location: WesBanco Arena
Score: UC 79, FSU 71
Records: UC 20-10 (14-6 MEC) Frostburg State 16-15 (9-11 MEC)
 
How it Happened:
The Saturday semifinal match between the #3 seed Charleston and the #7 seed Frostburg State began with Charleston winning the initial tip and on their second possession scoring the first points of the game by way of a Jordan Scully three-pointer. Charleston quickly forced a Frostburg timeout as they opened the contest on a 7-0 run over the Bobcats. Navaeh Brooks ended the quarter with a turnaround floater at the buzzer to extend Charleston's lead. The Golden Eagles ended the first quarter ahead 24-11, highlighted by six offensive rebounds.
 
In the second quarter, Frostburg started to find some rhythm cutting the deficit down to just four points at the under five media timeout, Charleston leading 31-27 with 4:44 left in the quarter. Right after the media timeout, the Bobcats tied up the contest at 31-31 after back-to-back buckets. Moments later, the Bobcats took their first lead of the afternoon after scoring a layup to make the contest 33-31 in favor of Frostburg State. Charleston settled the score on their next possession with a Ksenija Metric jumper. The Bobcats then scored two from the charity stripe, but Jordan Scully got the lead back for the Golden Eagles with a three-ball to send the team to the locker room ahead 36-35. After an official review of a potential shot clock violation for the Bobcats, the halftime score was 36-33 in favor of Charleston.
 
Frostburg found the first two points of the third quarter, but Charleston responded on a Natilie Smith offensive board followed by a layup. Charleston picked up the pace and went on a 10-0 run as under five media timeout was called, Golden Eagles on top 48-38 with 4:35 left to play in the third. Noelle Polanco got comfortable beyond the arc putting up two three-pointers and pulling down three rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Natalie Smith was also active under the hoop, grabbing six boards in the quarter. Charleston controlled the lead as the buzzer for the quarter ended, leading 57-47.
 
The Golden Eagles kept their composure in the fourth, keeping a steady lead over the Bobcats. With four fouls on Kennedi McLean and five on Bridget Womber, freshmen Natalie Smith and Noelle Polanco needed to step up for their team, and they did just that. In the second half, Polanco had 13 points and three boards, and Smith had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
 
Up Next:
Charleston will face Glenville State in the championship contest on Sunday, March 8^th at 1:00PM.