WBB: MAKING HISTORY

LADY LIONS DROP CHARLESTON FOR SEASON'S 20th WIN

Anna Truckley FT
The Concord women's basketball program has enjoyed 20-win seasons before.  The Lady Lions reached that plateau twice, winning 21 games in 2006-07 and 20 the following season.  Each time a win in the WVIAC Tournament put CU over the top.

But never before had the Lady Lions won 20 games during the regular season.  Until now.

Concord used a familiar formula – strong rebounding, few turnovers and a double-double from Jolysa Brown – to defeat the University of Charleston, 70-58, Wednesday night at the Carter Center.

The victory extended CU's winning streak to five games and lifted the Lady Lions' record to 20-5, 17-4 in the WVIAC, with one game left in the regular season.

Brown secured her 17th double-double of the season – and the 44th of her career – by halftime.  She ended the night with 24 points and 17 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass.  She also blocked five shots and shot 9-15 from the field.

The Lady Lions spotted the visitors an early 14-9 lead, but scored nine unanswered points to go ahead 18-14 with 8:21 left in the 1st half.  Concord would never trail again.

CU took a 31-25 lead into halftime, but the Golden Eagles pulled within two points, at 37-35, with 14:43 remaining.  But a three-point play by Brown started a 14-6 rally that gave CU a 51-41 edge five minutes later.

Jolysa To Tanisha
UC closed within 57-53 with 5:23 to go, but Brown fed Tanisha Williams for a layup (right), Williams hit a jumper on CU's next trip and Brown followed two more jumpers as the Lady Lions took command with a 65-54 lead with 3:08 remaining.

Williams came off the bench to complement Brown with a season-high 12 points.  The junior guard from Virginia Beach, VA sank 4-6 shots from the floor and all four of her free throws.

Concord outrebounded UC, 55-36, including a 25-14 advantage in offensive rebounds.  The Lady Lions – second in the nation in turnovers per game – gave the ball away just four times Wednesday night.

Lauren Davis led UC (12-13, 11-10) with 14 points.

BOXSCORE / PLAY-BY-PLAY
(statistics provided by CU SID GA Becky Brouse)


Up next for Concord is a meeting with Mercer County rival Bluefield State on Saturday, February 25 at the Carter Center.  The WVIAC matchup – part of Concord's “Girls & Boys In Sports Day” -- tips off at 2:00 pm.

Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket (WMTD Hinton/Princeton/Beckley) starting with the “Mountain Lions Preview Show” at 1:40 pm.

Links to CU's Live Stats, streaming video, and The Ticket's webcast can be found in the navigation bar near the top of the women's basketball homepage here on www.cumountainlions.com.






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