Women's Basketball 02.10.17 Darrell-Dingus Ely

UVa-Wise Looks for Season Sweep of Hilltoppers Saturday

Storylines vs. West Liberty University
Losers of five of its last six games, West Liberty enters Saturday's game at UVa-Wise tied for ninth in the Mountain East Conference standings. Veteran coach Lynn Ullom's squad struggled to score and maintain possession in an 81-54 loss at Concord Thursday. The Hilltoppers shot just 32.7 percent from the floor, including a 24 percent showing from the 3-point line, while turning the ball over 24 times in the loss. Concord shot over 52 percent in the win while outscoring West Liberty 42-16 over the second and third quarters. In its first meeting against UVa-Wise, West Liberty attempted 37 3-pointers but connected on just eight of the attempts. This season, the Hilltoppers have attempted 690 3-pointers, the third most in the MEC. The team is led by McKenna Shives who averages a team-high 14.4 points per game while having made a team-best 84 3-pointers. The guard was limited to 3-14 shooting from the 3-point line in the first meeting against the Cavaliers and finished with 11 points.

About UVa-Wise
Following Thursday's loss to Wheeling Jesuit, UVa-Wise will look to rebound against West Liberty. Kristin Kunzman's team stands in third place in the league standings, a game back of second place Glenville State. While standing a game out of second place, the Cavaliers are just a game up of fourth place Fairmont State, putting extra meaning on the season's final five regular season games. In their first meeting against the Hilltoppers, the Cavs placed five players in double-figure scoring, led by senior Kayla Carey's 16 points. A win Saturday would give UVa-Wise its first ever season-series sweep against West Liberty. The Hilltoppers won each of the first eight meetings between the two programs before the Cavs scored a 79-60 win in West Liberty last month. To claim the season sweep, UVa-Wise will have to greatly improve on its shooting performance from Thursday. The Cavs made just 25.8 percent of their field goal attempts in the 72-44 loss and failed to place a player in double-figure scoring for the first time this season. Kristin Kunzman's team shot just 19.2 percent from the field in the opening half as Wheeling Jesuit built a 38-16 halftime lead. The bright spots for UVa-Wise in the loss were freshman Kayla Mullins and sophomore Alle Moore. Mullins came off the bench to record eight points and three rebounds while Moore scored eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in her reserve role. This will be the final home game of a three-game home stand, UVa-Wise will finish the season by playing three of four away from the Prior Center before playing Concord University for Senior Day on Feb. 25.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Kayla Mullins: SG; 5' 9"; Freshman

#45 Alle Moore: SF; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#42 Kayla Carey: C; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#12 Kayla Mullins
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: SG

#45 Alle Moore
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: SF

#42 Kayla Carey
: 6' 2"; Senior
: C

Players Mentioned

#12 Kayla Mullins

#45 Alle Moore

#42 Kayla Carey

Players Mentioned

#12 Kayla Mullins

#45 Alle Moore

#42 Kayla Carey