Concord Loses Close Game at Wheeling Jesuit

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team was edged 73-70 by Wheeling Jesuit Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference action at the McDonough Center.

In a game that featured that 18 lead changes and five ties, CU (6-16, 6-11 MEC) built up an 11-point lead with just over a minute remaining in the first half, 40-29, over Wheeling Jesuit (13-7, 10-6 MEC).

After leading by just four at the 4:10 mark of the first half, the Mountain Lions outscored WJU 7-0 over the next three minutes to hold the 11-point advantage. Sophomore guard Olivia
Morgan scored three points with senior forward Rachel Artrip and senior guard Melea Smith each scoring two points.

CU took a 40-32 advantage into halftime.

The Cardinals came out in the second half and outscored Concord 11-3 to tie the contest at 43-43. With 15:56 remaining in the game, CU and WJU traded the lead nine times and were tied four times up until the 5:55 mark of the second half. After Wheeling Jesuit's Taylor Lubinsky hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:02 left in the game, putting the Cardinals up 64-61. The Mountain Lions were never able to overtake Wheeling Jesuit again in the contest as WJU held on for the three-point win.  

Smith finished with 23 points including a 5-for-8 effort from three-point range. It was Smith's highest-point total since Dec. 4, 2014 when she scored 29 against Glenville State and the most three-pointers she has made since hitting six against Rollins Dec. 15, 2014.

Artrip joined Smith in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds.

As a team, the Mountain Lions shot 50 percent (29-for-58) from the field, the best percentage they have shot from the floor since shooting 53.1 percent at Glenville State.

Senior forward Jacqueline Kestner added eight points and six boards for CU while sophomore center Alley Odell also had eight points.

CU had advantages in points off turnovers (22-16), field-goal percentage (50.0-47.4) and made three-pointers (9-7).

The Mountain Lions will host the University of Charleston 5:30 p.m. Thursday.