SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. –  Shepherd University held off West Virginia State for a 58-53 victory in MEC women's basketball action at the Butcher Center on Thursday night.

Shepherd was led by senior guard Rachel Johnson (Frederick, Md./Frederick) with  a team-high 13 points. She connected on 5-of-13 shots with a 1-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. She drained 2-of-4 free throws.

Sophomore guard Cara Mason (Monrovia, Md./Urbana) added 11 points with a team-high seven rebounds and  a game-high five assists.

Freshman guard Morgan Arden (Hanover, Pa./Spring Grove) and senior guard Alex Weakland (Camp Hill, Pa./Cumberland Valley) each added eight points.

Shealyn Shafer had 21 points and 14 points to lead West Virginia State. Alexus Hobbs added 14 points and 12 boards.

Shepherd opened the game on a 14-5 run and took a 37-23 lead into intermission.

State rallied in the second half and got to within single digits at 48-40 when Shafer hit a layup with 9:22 remaining in the game.

The Yellow Jackets  made it a two possession game at 58-53 after a layup by Shafer with 17 seconds left, but Shepherd ran out the clock to preserve the win.

Shepherd shot 32.3 percent (21-65) from the floor with a 23.1 percent effort (3-13) from three-point range. The Rams shot 65 percent (13-20) from the charity stripe.

West Virginia State connected on 37 percent (20-54) from the floor with a 30 percent (6-20) performance from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets drained 50 percent (7-14) of their free throws.

State had a 49-36 advantage on the boards. The Rams forced 11 turnovers and committed 24.

Shepherd improves to 5-2 overall, 3-0 in conference play, while West Virginia State falls to 2-4, 0-2. The Rams return to action on Saturday when they travel to University of Charleston for a 2 p.m. contest.