Kotchman becomes MEC's all-time leading scorer in Falcons Senior Day rout of Bobcats

Feb. 28—FAIRMONT — Fairmont State's roller coaster regular season ended with a mauling and a milestone on Saturday's Senior Day against visiting Frostburg State, as the Falcons collectively bludgeoned the Bobcats 97-53 and senior star Sierra Kotchman dropped 26 points to the become the all-time leading scorer in Mountain East Conference history.

"It was just another game and I was just trying to win, but it's a great milestone to accomplish and I'm grateful for my teammates for sure because I wouldn't be here without them," said Kotchman, who passed Shepherd's Morgan Arden for the all-time mark. "It was a fun day."

Kotchman, who was 8-of-14 in shooting, including 7-of-11 from 3, crossed the historic benchmark in the third quarter when she delivered a mesmerizing shooting display that matched the magnitude of the moment. The Falcons (7-9) were already firmly in control over the Bobcats (2-14) up 48-24 at the half, and then Kotchman opened the third period as she caught fire and drilled four straight jumpers, including back-to-back-to-back 3s, to run her individual point total to 19 for the game and 2,000 for her career to break the MEC record.

"I'm extremely proud of Sierra," said Fairmont State coach Stephanie Anderson. "She continues to knock down milestones because she works so hard. I say this all the time, but you're just not going to find a harder worker; she's consistently in the gym 24/7, she's the hardest person on herself, and it's not a surprise to me she's breaking down all of these barriers because she does all the things she needs to to break down these barriers.

"She continues to strive and grow in every area, and she wants to be a winner so she wants to be coached and she wants to be told what she can do better. She's just a fantastic kid, and I love her."

"I mean I've worked my entire life for basketball," said Kotchman, whose 2,004 total career points ranks third in Fairmont State history, with the program's all-time mark by Kaitlyn Snyder now just 52 total points away at 2,056. "I've put so much hard work, dedication and sacrifice into the game in every aspect of my life. It's my passion, I love it, and I'm going to do whatever I can to be the best at it that I can be."

Kotchman wound up pouring in 14 points in the third quarter alone during her record-breaking stretch, and eventually ticked off a scoring barrage of 18 points in the opening 12:22 in the second half before exiting the game for good midway through the fourth quarter with Fairmont State up 87-50.

"I think every shot I take is going in, so it's just a matter of being confident and taking the shots that I have," said Kotchman, who went 6-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3 in the second half. "Every time I touch the ball, I'm looking to either score or attack or create for my teammates, so I'm just trying to be aggressive all game in looking for my shots."

Kotchman's record-breaking performance was emblematic of Fairmont State's play as a whole against Frostburg State on Senior Day, where the Falcons honored Presley Tuttle and Erin Danik for their contributions and impact on the program over their respective careers.

"I thought we played extremely hard and I thought we played together, and I think that's obviously when we've looked best this year," Anderson said. "There were a lot of emotions and energy going into today on Senior Day as there always is, and as a coach, you're never sure how you're going to tunnel that energy, but our girls did a fantastic job of tunneling all of that energy and putting it into the game."

Fairmont zipped past Frostburg right from the opening tip-off, running up a 10-0 lead out of the gate and a 29-10 advantage by the end of the first quarter. The Falcons outscored the Bobcats 19-14 in the second quarter to take a 24-point margin into the half and then won the third quarter 30-14 to turn the game into a rout going into the fourth.

Kotchman scored a game-high 26 points for the Falcons, while Jertaya Hall, Katy Darnell and Jalen Gibbs also cracked double figures. Hall scored 15 points in nearly 25 minutes off the bench, as she had the 3-ball working en route to going 3-of-6 from distance, while Gibbs and Darnell tallied 12 points apiece. Gibbs also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.

Tuttle and Danik scored seven points and four points, respectively in their honorary Senior Day starts. Tuttle, who went 2-of-5 from the field, also added four rebounds and a pair of steals in 15-plus minutes, and Danik, who went 2-of-4 from the field, tied Gibbs for a team-high seven rebounds to go with three assists in just over 12 minutes of action.

"It was really emotional. Basketball has been a huge part of my life and I hate to see this chapter close," Tuttle said. "I would say since I came to Fairmont, even when I was a freshman, I was pretty well spoken and a leader then, but being here four years now I have that experience on my side where I'm pretty vocal because when it comes to winning I get really competitive and I want to make sure my team is the best we can be."

"It was very emotional. Getting one more chance to get out there, it hit different," Danik said. "Just the connections I've made and the friendships I've made, I think of this team as a family, and without them, I couldn't imagine my college experience. I like to joke around and I'm a big goofball, so whether there's stress or not, I'm going to try to lighten the mood and say or do whatever. I just think it's been a great connection and I wouldn't change it for anything."

Fairmont State will now prepare for the Mountain East Conference Tournament, which gets underway Monday with the Falcons hosting Alderson Broaddus at Joe Retton Arena in the North Division Nos. 4/5 matchup at 7:30 p.m.

Email Bradley Heltzel at bheltzel@timeswv.com or follow him on Twitter @bradheltzTWV.