GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball overcame a double-digit first half deficit to beat Glenville State 104-96 in Mountain East Conference play Thursday night at the Waco Center.
By winning, Concord is 2-3 overall and 2-1 in MEC play while Glenville State falls to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
CU was led by the duo of senior guard
Melea Smith, who scored a career-high 29 points on 13-for-25 shooting while Concord's leader scorer senior forward
Jacqueline Kestner scored a personal-best 26 points and snatched eight rebounds.
The Mountain Lions grabbed an early 13-9 lead over the first four minutes of the game. GSC would then outscore Concord 21-2 over a five-minute span to grab their biggest lead of the game, 30-15.
CU chipped away at the Pioneers' lead until they tied it at 39-39 with 5:29 left in the first half. Of the 24 points the Mountain Lions scored in the span, Kestner, junior forward
Kylie Molisee and Smith combined for 20 points while freshman guard
Danielle Catron and sophomore guard
Olivia Morgan chipped in two points each.
The two teams traded the lead five times over the last five minutes of the second as Kestner was able to hit a buzzer beat to give Concord a 53-52 halftime lead.
The second half started like the first half finished with the teams trading the lead six times in the opening five minutes .
After Glenville State pushed its lead to 79-73, its biggest of the second half, CU began to whittle away at the deficit. CU went on a 14-2 to grab an 87-81 lead. Several Mountain Lions keyed on the run with senior forward
Rachel Artrip and Smith scoring four apiece while Kester, Molisee and freshman guard
Lindsey Overbey made a basket of their own.
The Mountain Lions would fend off two different ties (87-87 and 89-89) to win by the eight-point margin. In the last three minutes of the game, CU was 6-for-8 from the foul line to seal the win.
Thursday night marked the first time Concord has gone over 100 points since the 2011-2012 when they scored 103 on the road versus Glenville State on November 22, 2011.
Additionally, it was the first time two CU players have scored 20 or more points in the same game since Camisha Alexander,
Andrea Bertrand and Jolysa Brown all scored at least 20 points in that particular matchup with the Pioneers.
Molisee recorded her second straight double-double by scoring 17 points and tying her career-high with 16 rebounds. The Peck, Kansas native has grabbed 16 rebounds in consecutive games. Meanwhile, Morgan registered career-high in both points (13) and rebounds (10) to collect her first career double-double.
Artrip also finished in double figures with 10 points while Catron contributed a career-high seven points off the bench.
The Mountain Lions shot a season-best 53 percent (43-for-81) from the field, its best percentage since it shot 50 percent against West Virginia State last season at home.
Concord owned advantages on the glass (59-45), points in the paint (48-20) and assists (21-17).
The Mountain Lions will travel to Buckhannon, West Virginia for a conference contest against West Virginia Wesleyan.
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