WBB: STRONG TO THE FINISH

LADY LIONS CLOSE OUT ALDERSON-BROADDUS

Jolysa Shot #1
The Concord women's basketball team has recently stumbled in closing out games, letting slip late leads in its last three contests.

When asked what his focus was in Monday night's game at Alderson-Broaddus, CU head coach Kenny Osborne simply said, “Finish, finish, finish.”

The Lady Lions heeded their coach's words, scoring the last seven points of the game to rally for a 57-52 victory over the Battlers at Rex Pyles Arena in Philippi, WV.

WVIAC Player of the Year candidate Jolysa Brown led Concord 22 points and 13 rebounds – her 12th double-double of the season and the 42nd of her career.   But the backcourt duo of seniors Anna Truckley and Holly Bibb sparked CU's decisive comeback.

Truckley sank two free throws that tied the score at 52-52 with 3:54 left in the game.  After a missed A-B shot – rebounded by Brown -- Bibb drained a three-point shot that put the Lady Lions ahead 55-52 with 3:14 to go.

The Lady Lions forced a turnover and two missed shots on A-B's next three trips, and Truckley put the game away with two more free throws with :19 left.


Concord took an early lead and was ahead 29-24 at halftime.  The Lady Lions scored the first four points of the 2nd half to open a nine-point lead – their biggest of the night – only to see A-B go on a 12-2 run to take a 36-35 lead with 14:42 remaining. 

Rachel Artrip 3-pt Shot
CU responded with a 9-3 rally – capped by a three-pointer by freshman Rachel Artrip – to move ahead 44-39 with 11:00 left.

Alderson-Broaddus countered with a 13-6 run – capped by a three-pointer from Natalie Smith – to go in front 52-50 with 4:54 to go.  But Concord's defense wouldn't allow the Battlers to score after that, setting the stage for the closing surge.

CU limited A-B to .350 (21-60) from the field and went 20-26 (.769) from the free throw line, while the Battlers were 3-5.

Sophomore Andrea Bertrand complemented Brown's 13 rebounds with 11 of her own.

Ericka Brooks topped A-B (6-15, 4-14) with 14 points.


BOXSCORE / PLAY-BY-PLAY
(courtesy A-B Sports Information)


Up next for Concord (15-6, 12-5) is a matchup with WVIAC rival Ohio Valley at the Carter Center on Saturday, February 11.  Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm.  The Lady Lions dropped a 78-63 result to the Fighting Scots on January 9 in Vienna, WV.

Saturday's game will be broadcast on News/Talk AM 620/101.1 FM WWNR, starting with the “Mountain Lions Preview Show” at 1:40 pm.

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



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