The usual NCAA Division II basketball season is a busy one. Teams are allotted 27 regular-season games over the course of roughly 14 weeks – an average of a game every four days or so.
So when a team goes nearly a month between games, it can be difficult to get back into a rhythm.
Just ask Concord.
Returning to the court after a 25-day hiatus, the Mountain Lions Women's Basketball team couldn't shed the rust of a long layoff and suffered their first defeat of the season, 53-46, to Lake Erie College (OH) on Saturday, January 2, in the first day of the FSU Alumni Classic in Fairmont, WV.
Lake Erie, a Division II independent, had played eight games during the time Concord was idle. But during most of Saturday's contest, neither team looked sharp.
Momentum swung back and forth as each squad got into and out of sync. The Storm scored the first four points of the game; Concord scored the next five. Lake Erie then went on a 13-4 run to lead 17-9, only to see the Mountain score nine unanswered points. A three-point shot by Sidney Lindsey put CU ahead 18-17 with 4:29 left before halftime.
A three-pointer by Sarah Wojciechowski triggered a 7-3 Lake Erie run that put the Storm ahead 24-21. A jumper by Concord's Sarah Blevins at the first-half buzzer pulled the Mountain Lions within 24-23 at the break.
The see-saw trend continued after halftime. Just like the first half, the Storm scored the first four points after the break to go up 28-23. And, just like the first half, Concord answered.
The Mountain Lions put together a 7-0 run, capped by a jumper from Sierra Brown, to take a 30-28 lead with 13:50 left.
After that, the see-saw ride bottomed out. LEC embarked on an 11-0 run over a 5:36 span to open a 39-30 advantage. Concord would get no closer than seven points after that.
The Mountain Lions played stern defense, limiting the Storm to .230 shooting (14-61), including .167 (3-18) from three-point range.
But Concord's offense sputtered against Lake Erie's relentless defense. CU shot just .281 (18-64), well under their season field-goal average of .457. The Mountain Lions were an icy-cold 3-20 (.150) from three-point range.
In a rugged, physical game, the Storm outrebounded Concord 52-45. Lake Erie enjoyed a sizeable advantage from the free throw line, finishing 22-29. By contrast, the Mountain Lions were 7-10.
Brown led Concord with 14 points, and added six rebounds. Sidney Lindsey added 11 points and five rebounds. Those two combined to shoot 12-27 (.444), while the rest of the CU roster was 6-37 (.162).
Stephanie Rogers topped LEC with 12 points, to go with nine rebounds. Renese Ames went for a double-double, with 11 points and ten rebounds.
The Storm, which finished 6-21 last season – their first in Division II – improved to 10-8 with Saturday's victory.
Concord fell to 6-1.
The 53 points allowed by Concord was the fewest the Lady Lions had given up so far this season. However, the Mountain Lions' 46 points was their lowest score of the season, and 37 below their season average.
BOXSCORE: www.lec.edu/ath_stats/wb/WBK0910/HTML/wb010210.htm
The Lady Lions will have no lengthy downtime before their next game. Concord returns to play tomorrow, Sunday, January 3, for a 1:00 pm EST non-conference game against WVU Tech in day two of the FSU Alumni Classic.
The game will be broadcast on Classic Rock 102 The River (WMTD 102.3 FM), with streaming audio at www.theriver102.com, starting with the “Mountain Lion Preview Show” at 12:30.
