Concord Uses Second Quarter Burst to Pull Away from Charleston, 75-70

ATHENS, W.Va. – By outscoring the University of Charleston 26-8 in the second quarter, the Concord University women's basketball team grabbed a 75-70 victory at the Carter Center in Mountain East Conference action Thursday night.

After an evenly played first quarter that saw Charleston (8-8, 5-6 MEC) hold a 17-14 edge after 10 minutes,  the Mountain Lions (8-7, 5-6 MEC) came out firing to start the second quarter.

CU scored 12 of the first 14 points in the second period as the Concord frontcourt trio of senior Heather Chapman, freshman Riley Fitzwater and sophomore Madison May were responsible for all 12 points during the run. In the spurt, Fitzwater and May each converted an old-school three-point play.

The Mountain Lions grew their lead to double-digit, 35-24, after a May layup and took a 40-25 lead into the locker room.

Concord maintained a double-digit lead and led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, 50-34, after May made a jumper with 4:34 left in the period. However, UC finished the quarter on a 10-0 run to trim the CU lead to 50-44 to start the fourth quarter.

With both team trading buckets, the Maroon and Gray was able to open its margin back up to double digits with 7:37 remaining, and made 4-of-6 free throws in the final 2:23. Junior guard Emily Boothe also had a fast break layup in the final two minutes of the game to secure the CU win.

Four Mountain Lions finished in double figures led by May tallying 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting and a perfect 7-for-7 at the foul line. Fitzwater added 18 points and six rebounds on 8-for-9 shooting.

Chapman recorded her second double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Summerville, South Carolina native also tied a career-best with four steals.

Boothe was the fourth Concord player to score in double figures as she netted 10 points in the game and held UC's top scorer Octavia Loll to 5-for-14 from the floor.

With the win, CU has put together its longest win streak since the 2011-12 season. The Mountain Lions will seek their fifth straight win 2:00 p.m. Saturday at UVa.-Wise.