WHEELING — Top-seeded Glenville State uncharacteristically chose not to attend its morning shootaround prior to its semifinal showdown with fifth-seeded Fairmont State here Saturday afternoon in the annual Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena.

The decision, however, proved to be the right one. The Pioneers came out on fire connecting on seven of their first 10 shots, including their first four 3-point field goal attempts as they raced to an early 10-point lead and eventually an 83-74 victory over the Falcons.

“That’s not like us is it to not take a shootaround?” said GSU coach Emily Stoller with a smile. “This is my eighth MEC Tournament (as a player or coach) and this is the first time we’ve chosen to not take the shootaround time. It was nothing like we know we’re good enough to come in here and win and not have to shootaround. We just chose to prioritize rest and recovery over getting maybe an extra 20 minutes to shoot.

“We employ a shooter’s system. I was a shooter myself in the system and as long as I’m in this position as a coach I’m always going to preach confidence to the girls I coach. I tell them a shooter’s game is probably 90 percent confidence and 10 percent skill. I knew that as a player myself. Today, that worked out.”

The Pioneers shot 49 percent from the field for the game (28-of-57), including 52 percent from three-point range (13-of-25). Glenville was also 82.4 percent at the foul line (14-of-17) as it ran its record to 24-5 with the win and earned a second straight berth in the MEC Tournament championship game. It also avenged the Pioneers’ loss to the Falcons in the title game last season.

Glenville will face third-seeded Charleston (20-10) Sunday at 1 p.m. in the tournament championship game. The Golden Eagles eliminated seventh-seeded Frostburg State Saturday. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles split their regular-season series.

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak in MEC Tournament games for the Falcons dating back to 2024. FSU, which won the last two league tourney titles, fell to 21-9 overall this season. Fairmont will now await word Sunday night from the NCAA on whether it did enough to qualify the annual NCAA Divison II Women’s Basketball Atlantic Regional for the third year in a row. The Falcons were ranked seventh in the region coming into the week and the three teams below them all lost. The top eight teams in the region qualify for the national tournament. Fairmont would have to earn an at-large bid.

“That’s the hardest thing about being a coach in the locker room right now,” FSU coach Stephanie Anderson said. “You don’t know how to address your team. I don’t know if I should be giving them hugs and be telling them how much I loved this season or using it as motivation for them to get back to work and get ready for a regional next week.”

After the first 20 minutes Saturday it looked as if Glenville was going to run Fairmont out of the gym. The Pioneers were hitting shots, dominating on the offensive glass and held a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points which helped lead to a 43-28 lead at the break.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Stoller said. “We took the game plan of the scout to the floor and we were able to execute it today against a high-energy team.”

By the 6:34 mark of the third quarter Glenville’s lead had ballooned to a game-high 21 at 51-30 and at the start of the final 10 minutes it was an 18-point advantage. Then Fairmont awoke from its slumber.

The Falcons outscored the Pioneers 25-11 in the first 8:16 of the fourth quarter, including a 12-0 spurt at one point, to close the gap to 74-70 on a three by true freshman Hadley Horne. Horne scored seven of her 12 points in the final quarter.

“I really just did there what I’ve been coached to do all year,” said Horne. “I’ve bought into what coach Steph and Miki (Glenn) have been saying and at that point it came down to us as a team doing what we’ve been coached to do. “We stepped up in a big way and our team came together. That little bit of energy from me created a fire in everyone else and we got rolling. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be enough today.”

Glenville’s Stevi Yancy nailed a three with 1:14 remaining to put her team back on top by seven and the Pioneers were able to seal the victory by going 6-of-8 at the foul line in the game’s final 56 seconds.

“Kudos to Fairmont they’re a great team and they’ve had a great season and work hard,” said Glenville’s Jayda Allie, who finished with 15 points and made three of the Pioneers’ last six foul shots. “Shooting-wise my teammates and coaches have a lot of confidence in me and really everyone to make shots. We’re always encouraging and supporting one another.”

The Pioneers got a game-high 18 points from Wonder Nkoyock. Khalia Bryant chipped in 14 points and Nwando Okigbo finished with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Gabby Reep led Fairmont with 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds and a game-high seven steals. The Falcons also got 12 points apiece from Horne, Haylen Cook and Zaniya Murray.

Glenville’s last tournament title came in 2023. The Pioneers have claimed five MEC tourney championships in their history – more than any other conference program.