Concord Women's Basketball head coach Kenny Osborne has made little secret that his injury-depleted Lady Lions will rely on Jolysa Brown and Camisha Alexander to make the offense go.
Friday afternoon, in Concord's losing-streak-snapping 68-54 win over Alderson-Broaddus, Alexander and Brown combined for 45 points – or 66.1% of the team's scoring.
Saturday afternoon, against Davis & Elkins, the duo provided a slightly smaller scoring percentage, but produced the most important points of the day, as CU claimed a thrilling, come-from-behind, 59-58 victory over the Senators at the Carter Center.
D&E took the lead just 4:49 into the game and would go up by as many as 14 points (31-17) with 2:47 left in the first half. Concord stormed back with a 17-3 run bridging halftime – capped by back-to-back baskets from Brown and Alexander -- to tie the game at 34-34 with 16:14 remaining in regulation.
The Senators responded with nine unanswered points and would lead 58-51 with 4:36 left. But they wouldn't score again, as Concord's defense clamped down during crunch time for the second straight day.
On Friday, the Lady Lions held A-B scoreless for nearly 11 minutes in the second half while simultaneously embarking on a game-breaking 17-0 run.
Saturday, CU forced the Senators to miss their last seven shots. That left the door open for another rally, and Concord stepped through the threshold.
Brown sank two straight inside shots to bring Concord within 58-55 with 3:39 left, then hit two free throws to make the score 58-57 with 2:14 to go. D&E missed twice on its next trip, with an Alexander rebound getting CU the ball back at the 1:47 mark.
Nineteen seconds later, Alexander's jump shot (off an assist from Brown) put Concord in front. It was the Lady Lions' first lead since being ahead 1-0 with 17:49 remaining in the first half.
Concord got a stop left, but couldn't convert on offense, and the Senators took possession with :30 left. D&E took two timeouts to set up a play, but Lindsay Holiday's three-point attempt at the buzzer went awry and the Lady Lions celebrated their second win in less than 24 hours.
Brown finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Alexander added 17 points and five rebounds. (For the mathematically inclined, that meant the two totaled 59.3% of the Lady Lions' Saturday scoring.)
Kristin Kidd chipped in eight points, five rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Haley Smith contributed eight points (including two clutch three-pointers), four rebounds and two blocks.
Concord limited Davis & Elkins to .294 (20-68) from the field, including .241 (7-29) from three-point range.
The Lady Lions shot poorly in the first half (7-26, .269), but strongly in the second (14-27, .519) to finish at .396 for the game.
Saturday's win lifted Concord to 12-8, 9-6 in the WVIAC. D&E, swept by CU this season, fell to 12-10, 8-9.
The Lady Lions now prepare for their second encounter this season with Glenville State and their high-speed, high-pressure, full-court “system.” Concord committed 30 turnovers against “The System” in an 88-69 loss to the Pioneers at Lilly Gymnasium January 21st.
Monday night, they meet again. Tip-off is set for 5:30 pm EST at the Carter Center.
The game will be broadcast, as part of a doubleheader with the Concord men, starting at 5:00 pm on Classic Rock 102 The River. The radio webcast will be available at www.theriver102.com.
Live, streaming video can be found at www.concord.edu/mltv.
