Frostburg State 78, Point Park 68
By Duane Cochran
For Mountain East.org
WHEELING, W.VA. – Seventh-seeded Frostburg State used an impressive 26-0 run over the final three minutes of the second quarter and the first 3:30 of the third period to wipe out a six-point deficit and roll to a 78-68 victory over 10th-seeded Point Park here Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the annual Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena.
The win improved Frostburg to 15-14 overall and puts the Bobcats in Thursday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan (18-6) at noon.
Point Park finished its season at 8-19.
Trailing 31-25 with 3:45 to play in the second quarter, the Bobcats went to work. Led by Sophie Nichols and Laekyn Flynn, Frostburg closed the first half with a 14-0 spurt to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room.
Nichols finished the game with 16 points, while Flynn added 10. Together they combined for 10 of the Bobcats’ 14 points on the game-changing second-quarter burst.
“I remember thinking on the court that we needed to keep doing the little things like get every loose ball and every rebound,” said Frostburg forward Jenna Muha, who finished with 10 rebounds and 16 points, 14 of which came in the first two quarters. “Our game plan was to go after everything hard and saying that at that point settled us down and got us refocused. Once we did that we put our foot on the gas and didn’t stop.”
In the third quarter the Bobcats’ Julie Spinelli drained a 3-pointer on her team’s first possession to ignite a 12-0 run which pushed Frostburg’s lead to 20 at 51-31. Spinelli, who shook off an early ankle injury in the game, scored seven of her team’s 12 points during that span.
“We’re a team that never gives up whether we’re up by nine or down by nine,” said Spinelli, who scored 15 points, 13 of which came in the final two quarters. “We give it our all no matter what. We don’t take any team lightly. At that point it was like Jenna said it was foot on the gas and keep going. This is the playoffs, the tournament and we knew we had to keep going.”
Frostburg coach Jenna Eckleberry says her team settled down after a rocky start in the second quarter, made better decisions and took better shots which led to much more efficient offense.
“On offense it kind of got away from us at the beginning of the second quarter,” Eckleberry said. “We were rushing shots, shooting with 26 or 27 seconds left on the shot clock and we were 1-for-10 from three.
“Once we calmed down, got the ball inside and opened up the drives from our shooters we settled in and went on a run. When that happened we stuck to the game plan and got better looks. We were finally taking the shots we wanted to take. It made a difference.”
The Pioneers went a total of 8:52 in the contest without scoring between the end of the second quarter and the midway point of the third. Offensive lulls have been a problem for Point Park all season and unfortunately it was again Wednesday afternoon.
“We have to be able to put four quarters together,” Pioneer head coach Dave Scarborough said. “The kids know I’m frustrated by that. It’s been our nemesis all year, particularly in the second quarter and at times in the fourth.
“The second quarter lull today was tough for us to come back from. I think sometimes we get complacent on offense. We have to work really hard to score and when we don’t score we don’t play defense and that’s frustrating to all of us.”
Frostburg shot 50.8 percent from the field (33-of-65) in the win and did most of its damage in the paint where the Bobcats outscored the Pioneers 56-26. FSU outrebounded Point Park 41-39, but did surrender 16 offensive boards to the Pioneers. Point Park, however, only scored 12 points off of those 16 offensive rebounds.
The Pioneers, who lost for the third time this season to Frostburg, were led offensively by Alexis Giles’ game-high 22 points. Point Park also got 13 points from both Camille Fultz and Lucia Hervia and 12 points from Elizabeth Boyd.
Point Park shot just 37 percent from the field for the game (27-of-73). The Pioneers rallied and closed the gap to 12 several times in the fourth quarter, but could never get the lead below double digits.
West Liberty 78, West Virginia State 72
By Duane Cochran
For Mountain East.org
WHEELING – It certainly wasn’t easy but for the first time since 2022 West Liberty’s women’s basketball team garnered a victory in the annual Mountain East Conference Tournament here Wednesday afternoon at WesBanco Arena.
The ninth-seeded Hilltoppers held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by eighth-seeded West Virginia State to record a hard-fought 78-72 win.
The victory improved West Liberty to 11-18 on the year and puts the Hilltoppers in Thursday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Glenville State at 6 p.m.
“It was a really hard-fought win,” West Liberty coach Kyle Cooper said. “You really have to give West Virginia State credit. I thought we kept getting control of the game at multiple times and they just kept coming back at us. Hats off to the fight they showed. They’re a physical team, a tough out and they’re talented.
“Flipping to us, I thought we showed tremendous resilience when they kept coming at us. The reality of it is there’s been times this year when we haven’t shown that resilience. So for us, it’s an opportunity with a new season starting with the tournament to step up and show just what we’re capable of. I’m really proud of our group. People really don’t understand the adversity this team has faced this season.”
Thirty minutes into Wednesday’s contest West Liberty appeared in control leading State by 13 with 10 minutes to play. The Yellow Jackets, however, had other plans. State opened the final quarter with a quick 10-0 run in a span of just 2:18 to close the Hilltoppers’ lead to a mere three points at 56-53.
On this day, though, West Liberty had the answers and those answers in the fourth quarter were mostly in the form of free throws. The Yellow Jackets put West Liberty at the foul line 26 times in the game’s final 7:20 and the Hilltoppers made good on 18 of those 26 chances to help keep State at bay. West Liberty only made two field goals in the final quarter.
The catalyst for the Hilltoppers in the fourth quarter was senior guard Anna Lucarelli who scored 10 of the her team’s final 22 points, including an 8-of-10 showing at the line in the fourth quarter. Lucarelli finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
“It’s a great feeling knowing I’m confident going to the line in those situations,” Lucarelli said. “I struggled a little bit at the line earlier in the season so I just went back to the basics. We have a little shooting court in our backyard at home and just visualizing myself out there with my mom or dad rebounding for me helps. It’s something I’ve done since I was old enough to touch a basketball. Having that mindset there’s no pressure. It’s just muscle memory and confidence.”
Joining Lucarelli in double figures for West Liberty were Reagan Vinskovich, Ana-Isabel Andersson and Kaleigh Norrus. Vinskovich, who has only played in 17 games this season, made a huge impact Wednesday. She finished with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds, while Andersson chipped in 15 points and Norris added 10.
West Virginia State, which finishes its season at 12-16, was led by Baylee Goins’ 23 points and six boards. Goins scored 14 of her points in the final two quarters, including 10 in the fourth.
“They did a good job today of responding to our runs,” said Goins of West Liberty. “We’d go on a run and they’d go on a run. We were right there though in the fourth quarter and just fell short.”
The Yellow Jackets also got 21 points and seven rebounds from Imani Hickman, 14 points and eight boards from Emily Anthony and 11 points from Latisha Parris. Hickman, Anthony and Goins all fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter.
“I think in the first half today we dug ourselves a hole, but I was really proud of the way we fought back,” first-year State coach Whitney Bays. “We got hit in the mouth a little bit there in the second and third quarters, but we did respond.
“I’m proud of my seniors and I’m proud of my team, but this was a tough one.”
The loss marks the first time since 2021 that West Virginia State has not made it to the tournament quarterfinals.