By Duane Cochran for MountainEast.org
WHEELING, W.Va. — Seventh-seeded West Virginia State broke open a close contest with 10th-seeded Point Park thanks to a scoring spurt in the first five minutes of the third quarter en route to an 82-58 victory in the opening round of the annual Mountain East Conference Women's Basketball Tournament here Wednesday afternoon at WesBanco Arena.
The Yellow Jackets, who opened the second half on an 11-3 run, connected on five of their first eight field goals attempts on the game-changing run, while holding the Pioneers to just a 1-of-8 showing from the field during the same span. The run allowed State to extend its 37-30 halftime lead to 48-33, and eventually to 52-34 as it took control of the game for good.
"In the first quarter we were getting the shots we wanted but we weren't hitting them," said State's Emyah Fortenberry, who finished with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. "In the second half we started making shots. We also pulled the on-ball person off of the ball and that helped us out a lot. We started getting steals and that's where we thrive playing a fast-paced game.
"We really came together as a team, picked it up, and played a lot harder in the second half. That helped make a difference."
The victory, State's ninth in its last 10 games, improved the Yellow Jackets to 17-12 on the year. It also earned State a berth in Thursday's quarterfinal round against second-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan (19-8) at noon. The Bobcats swept the regular-season series with the Yellow Jackets.
"Our team has really come together as one here recently," said State's Hallie Bailey, who finished with 11 points and a game-high four assists. "We've had talks. We've come together and we know what we need to do to win."
Yellow Jackets coach Charles Marshall agreed.
"The adversity that we had during that stretch in the middle of the year has really helped us down the stretch," Marshall said. "They take scout a little more seriously than they did at the beginning. They're more locked in now than they were and they understand better the work you have to do before you even get to the game to be successful.
"I think that's been the difference for us here down the stretch and as long as they continue to do that, come ready to play and be willing to outwork the other team I think we're going to be fine."
Point Park finished its inaugural season in the MEC with a 9-19 record. The Pioneers struggled in the second half Wednesday, connecting on seven of their 34 field goal attempts (20.5 percent). Point Park coach
Dave Scarborough said his team's obstacles offensively in the second half were a combination of plays State was making and the Pioneers were not.
"I honestly think it was a little of both," Scarborough said. "They've (State) been playing great basketball down the stretch and their record certainly doesn't indicate where I think they're going to go.
"We just didn't make adjustments today in the second half quick enough. We knew things were coming and we didn't adjust accordingly. Sometimes this year, halftime has been our worst enemy because it kind of stops our flow. That was the case again today."
State, which shot 50 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-30), outscored the Pioneers 40-26 in the paint. The Yellow Jackets also turned Point Park over 22 times in the win and had their bench outscore the Pioneers, 42-4.
Baylee Goins led State with 15 points. The Yellow Jackets also got 13 points and eight rebounds from Latifat Olatunji.
Alexis Giles led Point Park with 16 points, while
Camille Fultz added 11 and
Ari Bleda contributed a double-double finishing with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards. The Pioneers also got eight points and eight rebounds from
Aichata Ballo.
"I'm really proud of my team," Ballo said. "We had a tough, long and hard fight this season. People don't really understand all of the obstacles we had to fight through this season as a team.
"No one gave us much of a chance, but we beat teams this year no one expected us to beat and at the end of the day we left it all out there on the floor no matter what the scoreboard says."
