Led by one of the nation's premier forwards Marissa Brown, West Liberty University enters Thursday game at UVa-Wise on a four-game winning streak. Brown leads the league and ranks fifth nationally in scoring at 24.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 Youngstown State transfer is adding 12.5 rebounds and four blocks a night. Earlier this year, Brown made 12-of-20 field goal attempts en route to 29 points while adding 13 rebounds in a win over UVa-Wise. Taylor Johnson (16.7), Morgan Brunner (13.5), and Brandi Beader (10.9) are also scoring in double figure scoring as the Hilltoppers average 84.7 points per game to rank second in the league and fifth nationally. While offense has been the calling card of Kyle Cooper's club, it has been the team's defense that has sparked the recent winning streak. During the stretch, opponents are scoring just 61.5 points per game. The 'Toppers have won each of the four games by at least nine points while posting an average victory of 16.3 points per contest. Thursday's game will be the first of three consecutive road games for West Liberty. On the season, the 'Toppers are 5-4 on the road.

Eight regular season games remain for UVa-Wise and the importance of each game is magnified by the previous game's result. Currently, the Cavaliers sit in seventh place, one game behind sixth place where Shepherd and Notre Dame are tied. Sixth place is important as it's the final spot in the standings that earns a bye in the Mountain East conference Tournament. First-year coach Jamie Cluesman's team will have an opportunity to move up the standings as five of the final eight games are against teams ahead of them in standings. In the team's first meeting against West Liberty, UVa-Wise held a two-point halftime lead and trailed by just three with 90 seconds to go before falling 78-73. In the loss, sophomore Ada Stanley poured in 25 points while junior Cynita Webb netted 13  and grabbed 14 rebounds as the pair of forwards combined for over half of their team's points. A key to the game could be the Cavs' ability to keep the Hilltoppers off the 3-point line. In the first meeting, West Liberty made 12 long range shots to outscore UVa-Wise by 24 points from beyond the arc.