Concord's women's basketball team never had the lead in the 1st half of its matchup against WVU Tech on Saturday afternoon.
But the Lady Lions never trailed in the 2nd half, rolling to an 81-59 non-conference victory over the Golden Bears in the Fairmont State New Year's Classic in Fairmont, WV.
The victory was CU's 7th in a row and lifted its record to 9-1. It also completed a season sweep of WVU Tech – Concord opened its season with an 80-43 victory at the Carter Center on November 11.
The Lady Lions, playing their first game in two weeks, trailed by as many as eight points – at 22-14 – with 7:17 left in the 1st half. Concord closed the half with a 13-5 run to tie the game at 27-27 at the break, setting the stage for a game-breaking rally to open the 2nd half.
Camisha Alexander ignited Concord with a three-point shot and a three-point play. When the outburst ended, CU had scored 15 unanswered points in just 2:45 to break the game open.
“We weren't really rusty,” CU head coach Kenny Osborne said. “We were running our offense and getting good looks. The shots just weren't going in during the first half. We stayed with our offense, got more good looks in the second half, and the shots started to go in.”
Concord shot just .250 (10-40) in the 1st half, but was a sizzling .667 (22-33) after halftime. CU outscored WVU Tech 54-32 in the 2nd half.
Alexander (right) led all scorers with 26 points, sinking 10 of 17 shots, including 5-9 from three-point range. The senior from Beckley, WV also added a game-high four steals.
Amanda Smith added 15 points. Andrea Bertrand finished with 11 points, including nine in the 2nd half, when she made four of her five field goal attempts.
Concord outrebounded WVU Tech 52-41 and limited the Golden Bears to .267 (16-60) from the field.
Amy Gardner led WVU Tech with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Up next for Concord is a non-conference meeting with Notre Dame College (OH) tomorrow afternoon at the FSU New Year's Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
