Box Score
WISE, Va. - Five different players finished with at least 10 points as the Concord University women's basketball team defeated UVa.-Wise 73-66 Thursday night at the Prior Center in Mountain East Conference action.
The win, Concord's sixth in its last nine games, improves the Mountain Lions' record to 8-7 overall this season and to 6-5 in MEC play. UVa.-Wise falls to 7-8 overall and 3-8 in league games.
Junior point guard
Sissy Wagner and junior forward
Andrea Bertrand just missed out on posting double-doubles as Wagner finished with 16 points and nine assists while Bertrand scored 10 points and collected eight rebounds.
Junior guard
Rachel Artrip finished with 14 points while making four three-pointers. It was the most made three's for Artrip since she made five triples Nov. 20, 2012 vs. Alderson-Broaddus. Artrip also came away with six rebounds and three assists in the win.
Junior forward
Jacqueline Kestner poured in 15 points thanks in part to a 6-of-8 effort from the free throw line while also recording five rebounds.
Despite playing just nine minutes due to foul trouble, senior center
Sammi Webster added 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night from the field.
As a team, Concord finished 22-of-28 from the foul line. The 22 made free throws was the most for Concord this season as was its 78.6 shooting percentage from the charity stripe. The last time Concord made at least 22 free throws in a game was Jan. 26, 2013 against Seton Hill when it went 22-of-28 from the foul line.
The two schools played to a 14-14 tie through the opening 12 minutes of play before Concord made its move by going on a 20-7 run over the remainder of the half to take a commanding 34-21 lead into the break. Bertrand and Kestner scored six and four points, respectively, to lead CU during the run.
Two quick jumpers from Webster to open the second half gave CU a 17-point lead, 38-21, with 19:21 left in regulation, but UVa.-Wise countered with a quick 7-0 run of its own to trim the Mountain Lion lead to 38-28.
Concord answered by pushing its lead out to 20 points at 60-40 with 7:13 left in the game. The Mountain Lions maintained their 20-point advantage for the next three minutes until the Cavaliers furiously fought back with a barrage of three-pointers during a 15-4 spurt to cut the deficit to 68-59 with just 43 seconds remaining.
However, Concord iced the game from the free throw line by making all eight of its attempts in the final minute of play en route to the seven-point triumph. Wagner converted six of the foul shots and is now a perfect 27-of-27 from foul line in the final three minutes of games this season.
In addition to her clutch foul shooting, Wagner has averaged seven assists over her last five games while committing just 2.8 turnovers.
The other two foul shots in the final minute belonged to Bertrand, who extended her streak to 18 consecutive games with at least 10 points. She finished a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.
For the game, the Mountain Lions owned advantages over UVa.-Wise in steals (6-2), assists (20-12), free-throw percentage (78.6-68.4) and forced turnovers (14-12).
Concord shot 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the foul line and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from the three-point line while holding UVa.-Wise to just 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from three-point range..
Sophomore guard
Leslie Mack came off the bench to score six points including connecting on a three-pointer during CU's first half run.
UVa.-Wise was led by Taylor Sandidge, who finished with a game-high 18 points.
The Mountain Lions will stay on the road Saturday when they travel to take on 11th ranked Glenville State at 2:00 p.m.
