Lady Cardinals Force Overtime

CHARLESTON, WV---West Liberty received double-doubles from Tori Hansen and Andi Winney to survive an overtime battle with archrival Wheeling Jesuit 75-68 in a WVIAC Women's Basketball semifinal.

The Cardinals improbably forced overtime at 59-all when Kourtney Booth banked in a desperation 32-foot three-pointer just before the horn to end regulation.

West Liberty took control quickly in overtime, scoring the first ten points and holding WJU scoreless for the opening 3:51 of the extra session.  Jenn Cessna, who came off the bench for a season-high 13 points for the Toppers, keyed the hot start for WL with a pair of three-pointers.

The squads battled back-and-forth during regulation with ten ties and as many lead changes.  West Liberty built the largest lead of regulation at 56-47 at the 7:23 mark and still led 59-52 with 1:38 left.

Chrissy Pavlik hit a jumper and added a pair of free throws at the 1:00 mark to pull the Cardinals within three.  A shot clock violation and a missed Hansen free throw set the stage for Booth's heroics.

Despite a 3-for-11 effort from the foul line, Hansen was dominant in all other aspects of the game with 29 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists.  Winney provided 17 points and 13 rebounds as WL owned a commanding 56-30 edge on the glasss.

Booth led Wheeling Jesuit with 19 points.  Kim Muller racked up 13 points and 8 rebounds and Kara DeSantis ended with 11 points and 7 rebounds for WJU.

Fifth-seeded West Liberty (22-8) will face sixth-seeded Fairmont State (21-9) in Saturday's 6:00 p.m. championship tilt.  The squads split their 2009-10 regular season meetings.  Fairmont State won at home 73-66 on December 5.  The Toppers returned the favor with a 93-78 triumph at West Liberty on February 18. 

WVIAC Women's Basketball Tournament
March 1-6
Monday, March 1 (first round---campus sites, 7:30 p.m. unless indicated)
G1: #7 Shepherd 59, #10 Concord 57
G2: #2 Seton Hill 92, #15 Bluefield State 44
G3: #3 Charleston 80, #14 Ohio Valley 53
G4: #6 Fairmont State 62, #11 West Virginia State 57
G5: #8 Wheeling Jesuit 70, #9 Pitt Johnstown 63
G6: #4 Glenville State 119, #13 Alderson-Broaddus 86
G7: #5 West Liberty 97, #12 Davis & Elkins 87
Wednesday, March 3 (quarterfinals---Charleston Civic Center)
G8: Shepherd 76, Seton Hill 64
G9: Fairmont State 64, Charleston 62
G10: Wheeling Jesuit 53, #1 West Virginia Wesleyan 52
G11: West Liberty 96, Glenville State 79
Friday, March 5 (semifinals---Charleston Civic Center)
G12: Fairmont State 85, Shepherd 72
G13: West Liberty 75, Wheeling Jesuit 68 (ot)
Saturday, March 6 (championship---Charleston Civic Center)
G14: Fairmont State (21-9) vs. West Liberty (22-8) 6:00 p.m.