WBB: STICKING TO THE PLAN

BROWN'S BIG NIGHT LIFTS LADY LIONS INTO WVIAC SEMIFINALS

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True story:  Shortly before the Concord women's basketball team took the court for its WVIAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against the University of Charleston Wednesday night, a passerby asked CU head coach Kenny Osborne what his game plan was.

“Get the ball to #44 and get out of her way,” was Osborne's simple response.

The plan worked.

Concord's #44 is Jolysa Brown, a 1st Team All-WVIAC honoree who crushed the Golden Eagles' upset hopes with a dominating 34-point, 11-rebound performance in CU's 70-48 victory at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.

The 2nd-seeded Lady Lions completed a three-game season sweep of #10 UC and advance to a semifinal meeting with 3rd-seeded Glenville State on Friday.

Brown (left) scored Concord's first 12 points and finished the night shooting 13-22 from the field.  Her 34 points were a career high, eclipsing the 32 she scored at Glenville State on January 21, 2010.  Her double-double was the 19th of the season – 3rd-most in the nation – and the 46th of her career.  Brown also added four blocked shots and three steals and was 8-10 from the free throw line.

Wednesday's game was close through the 1st half, with four ties and six lead changes before Concord took a 31-26 advantage into halftime.

CU wasted little time breaking open the game with a 19-6 run to start the 2nd half.  Brown scored four straight Concord points, followed by six straight from Amanda Smith and seven in a row from Anna Truckley.  The rally put the Lady Lions ahead 50-31, and Charleston could get no closer than 16 points the rest of the night.

Concord shot .536 (15-28) in the 2nd half and .455 (25-55) for the night.  The Lady Lions limited UC to .317 (19-60).  CU outrebounded Charleston 46-32 and offset 19 turnovers by forcing UC into 17.

Smith (right) complemented Brown's big night with 11 points and six rebounds.  Truckley finished with nine points – all in the 2nd half – and a game-high nine assists.

BOXSCORE
(courtesy WVIAC)

Up next for Concord (23-5) is Friday's 3:00 pm semifinal against Glenville State (22-6) in Charleston.  CU took both games against the Pioneers during the regular season, a 103-94 victory in Glenville on November 22 and a 79-66 win at the Carter Center on February 13.

Friday's game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket (WMTD Hinton/Princeton/Beckley), as part of the WVIAC Tournament Network.  A link to the network'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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