The West Liberty University (WLU) women’s basketball team is currently on a four game win streak, going 3-0 in conference. Overall, they have won five games and lost two. Coach Kyle Cooper feels they are in a good position right now. He said that they have made the strides they needed to make, and have overcome many injuries.

This season is a little different than past years, the players on the court are mainly younger students mixed with some veteran players on the court. The main cause of this being injuries and those returning from being injured. Currently, there are a couple who were injured in preseason, paired with a few who are getting back into playing after being injured for a while.

Coach Cooper said, “It is nice to have some depth this year, and to see new players emerge.”

The leaders, Corrine Thomas, Karly McCutcheon, Grace Faulk and Anna Lucarelli have really stepped up this year, taking on all of the expectations well. Each of them are completely different on the court and off, but hold similar ideals and everyone is aligned with what the goals for this season are.

Cooper said the biggest thing for them is trying to bring the basketball offensively. He said, “This means high octane up and down the court, motion based, sharing the basketball and letting it fly from the three”. 

This season the team is significantly more aggressive offensively and has evolved a lot. Overall, it is more of a complimentary type of play, paired with ownership. They have a realistic set of goals, with high expectations set by the leaders. With the way this season is going for the Hilltoppers, there is a high chance they will reach these goals, and possibly play for a championship.

However, reaching these goals won’t be easy. They have some tough competition coming up including Fairmont State. They are predicted to be the team to beat, and have been pretty consistent. They do some things defensively that will be hard to beat. If anyone has a shot though it is WLU.