ATHENS, W.Va- The Concord University women's basketball team earned its third win in four games after downing West Virginia Wesleyan 61-58 in Mountain East Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
Concord improves to 5-16 overall (3-13 MEC), while West Virginia Wesleyan drops to 6-13 overall, (6-10 MEC).
The Mountain Lions stifled the Bobcats early on in the first period, holding WVWC to just 20 percent shooting from the field. Concord broke open a 4-4 tie with a 9-0 run capped off by a layup from junior guard
Danielle Catron to take a 13-4 lead with 3:30 left in the period and eventually took an 18-8 lead after one. Sophomore guard
Emily Boothe scored seven of her 10 first half points in the period.
Wesleyan surged back into the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Mountain Lions by seven, 21-14, to cut the Concord advantage to three heading into halftime, 32-29.
The third quarter remained close, with Concord briefly taking a six-point lead after senior guard
Alexis Lowery made two free throws with 5:51 left to make the score 41-35. However, the Bobcats clawed their way back into the game, scoring the next six to tie the game at 41-41 with 2:20 left. The two teams remained within two points of each other until a jump shot from freshman forward
Madison May on a nice pass from Lowery tied the game at 45-45 heading into the final quarter.
WVWC threatened to pull away from Concord in the fourth, taking a 56-51 lead with 4:15 left in the game. A 9-0 run from CU shortly afterwards, highlighted by two layups from Catron and five points from Boothe, helped Concord take a 60-56 lead with 3:06 to play.
West Virginia Wesleyan scored to make the score 60-58 CU with 1:46 remaining. A free throw from Boothe forced the Bobcats to try to make a three-pointer to tie the game, which fell short at the buzzer to give Concord its third conference win of the season.
Catron finished with 18 points, while Boothe (16), and Lowery (14), also posted double figures. Junior center
Alley Odell contributed six points and four rebounds off of the bench. Boothe also grabbed eight boards.
Concord continues its run in the Mountain East Conference when it faces West Liberty on Thursday. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
