GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The top-seeded Glenville State Lady Pioneer Basketball team held off a fierce Fairmont State comeback to advance to the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship game, defeating the Falcons, 83-74, inside WesBanco Arena Saturday (Mar. 7) afternoon. The Lady Pioneers improved to (24-5) on the year and have advanced to their ninth MEC Championship game.
1st Half
Khalia Bryant broke the scoreless tie with a putback layup before back-to-back-to-back threes from
Payton James,
Jayda Allie and
Stevi Yancy gave the Pioneers an 11-8 lead at the media timeout. From there,
Nwando Okigbo and
Wonder Nkoyock got involved, growing the Lady Pioneer lead to 10. The Falcons were able cut the deficit in half, but a pair of free throw from James boosted GSU back up by seven, 24-17, at the end of the quarter.
After Fairmont State made it a four-point contest, the Lady Pioneers were able to find their groove from behind the arc, with Nkoyock and
Keanti Thompson knocking down corner baskets to grow the blue and white's advantage to 14. Second chance opportunities were becoming the norm for the Lady Pioneers as the second stanza continued, with Bryant and Okigbo pulling down offensive boards. The GSU lead grew to as much as 17 in the quarter, but a quiet last two minutes before the halftime break kept the game at 43-28 heading into the locker room.
2nd Half
Allie and Bryant opened the new half with scores for the Lady Pioneers, and the Falcons were held scoreless the first three minutes until Zaniya Murray bottomed two free throws. Fairmont State continued to chip into the GSU lead, but consistent shooting from Allie and paint buckets by Okigbo and Nkoyock kept UC away. The lead grew to as much as 21 in the third stanza, and Glenville held onto a 63-45 advantage as the fourth quarter began.
The offense for FSU exploded in the final quarter of play, especially in the final four minutes of the ballgame. The Lady Pioneers were able to hold off a comeback until late, but the inevitable happened down the final stretch. Back-to-back triples from Fairmont State in a 30-second span trimmed the GSU lead down to 10, and a layup thirty seconds later made it an eight-point game. The Falcons stayed hot, draining a three as the Lady Pioneer lead dwindled to just four, 74-70.
Stevi Yancy hushed the loud FSU crowd with a three of her own with 56 seconds left. Possessions later, Fairmont State cut the deficit back down to six but GSU capitalized on their free throw opportunities to put away the Falcons, 83-74, and advance to the program's ninth MEC Tournament Championship game.
Final Stats
Fairmont State
Gabby Reep led the Falcons with 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds while Haylen Cook, Zaniya Murray and Hadley Horne all added 12 points. Ryan Davis had nine points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with five in the loss.
Glenville State
Wonder Nkoyock had one of her best games of the season, scoring 18 points on 50% shooting in just 20 minutes of action.
Jayda Allie swished four three-pointers and added 15 points while
Khalia Bryant (14 points) and
Nwando Okigbo (10 points, 10 rebounds) were key contributors for the Lady Pioneers. After having a season high in points on Thursday (Mar. 5) against West Liberty,
Nylah Davis notched a season-high eight assists in today's semifinal victory.
Up Next For The Pioneers
Glenville State will take on third-seeded Charleston in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship game tomorrow (Mar. 8) at 1 p.m. The Lady Pioneers will be seeking their sixth MEC Tournament title in school history.
