ATHENS, W.Va. – Sparked a hot-shooting first half, the Concord University women's basketball team downed West Virginia Wesleyan 83-67 Saturday afternoon at the Carter Center in Mountain East Conference action.
Trailing 16-11 six minutes into the game, Concord (10-8, 7-7 MEC) went on a 14-8 spurt to close the quarter and take a 25-22 lead after 10 minutes. Junior guard
Emily Boothe and sophomore forward
Madison May combined for 12 points during the run as Boothe sunk two of her four three-pointers in the stretch.
The Mountain Lions never trailed the Bobcats (5-15, 4-10 MEC) after the run to wrap up the first quarter. CU continued to apply the pressure on Wesleyan as it ran its lead in the first half up to as much as 12 points, 44-32, after a jumper from senior guard
Danielle Catron with 1:28 remaining in the half.
Concord carried a 46-36 lead in the intermission on the heels of a 71.4 percent performance from the field (20-for-28) in the first 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, WVWC attempted to take back momentum in the game as it went on an elongated 16-9 run in the third quarter that span nearly seven minutes. May converted a free throw with 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter to push Concord out in front by two possessions, 56-52.
Wesleyan was unable to get any closer as the Mountain L ions outscored it 27-15 over the final 10 minutes of the contest.
CU finished the game shooting 58.6 percent (34-for-58), the exact same numbers it put up at WVWC earlier in the season that resulted in an 88-68 road victory.
Catron led all scorers in the contest with 19 points as she went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter and scored 13 points. Freshman forward
Riley Fitzwater was also a force in the final 10 minutes as she scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. Fitzwater added 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season.
Boothe dropped 12 points on four made three-point buckets. The Riner, Virginia native stuffed the stat sheet by contributing five rebounds, seven assists and three steals to go with her 12 points.
May went for 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Junior guard
Andreanna Pool poured in 11 points and added a career-best eight assists.
It was the second time in the last six games the Mountain Lions had five players score in double figures.
Concord starts a three-game road trip 6:00 p.m. Monday night when it faces Mercer County rival Bluefield State at Ned Shott Gymnasium.
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