ATHENS, W.Va. -- Off a win against Bluefield State, the Concord University women's basketball team begins its home schedule with the Mountain East Conference opener versus Notre Dame 2:00 p.m. Saturday before hosting Urbana 1:00 p.m. Monday at the Carter Center. Concord is 2-1 after a 83-52 win over BSC. NDC has an identical record of 2-1, but lost its most recent game to Malone. Urbana starts the weekend with an 0-1 mark after losing its season opener to Tiffin.
LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics of both contests.
Video: Live streaming video will also be provided by the Concord University Sports Information Department.
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STRONG START
Through three games this season, the Mountain Lions have outscored opponents 123-85 in the first half of games including racing out to a 43-13 halftime lead against Bluefield State. Concord is averaging 41 points during the first halves of games this season, and has held at least a nine-point lead during the first half of all three games. Over the three games, CU is shooting 44.6 percent from the field (42-for-94) in the first half compared to just 41.0 percent overall this season.
CAREER NIGHTS
In CU's win at Bluefield State, senior guard Andreanna Pool and sophomore forward Tamra Scott led the way for Concord as Pool posted 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting and a 5-for-7 effort from three-point range. The five three-pointers were a career best for the Durham, North Carolina native. It was the first 30-point game for a CU player since junior forward Madison May tallied 30 points at West Virginia Wesleyan December 9, 2017. Making her first career start, Scott recorded her first career double-double by going for 14 points and 13 rebounds. It was the first time Scott was a double-figure scorer for the Mountain Lions in her career.
SEEING DOUBLE
Along with Scott, May also had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time two CU players had a double-doubles in the same game since January 29, 2018 at Bluefield State when Fitzwater and May went for double-doubles along with Danielle Catron.
SECOND HELPING
Early in the season, Concord is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the MEC. CU is averaging 15.7 offensive boards per game, fourth in the conference. The Mountain Lions have three players ranked in the top 15 in the league in offensive rebounds per contest. Sophomore forward Riley Fitzwater leads the MEC in offensive rebounds with 8.0 per game. May is grabbing 3.7 rebounds on the offensive glass, sixth in the league. Meanwhile, Scott in just 16.3 minutes per game is averaging 3.0 offensive rebounds per contest, tied for 12th in the MEC. The only other team in the MEC with three or players averaging 3.0 offensive rebounds per game is Glenville State.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Mountain Lions have been unable to defeat Notre Dame in 11 all-time meetings with the Falcons. Last season, Concord came within two possessions of defeating NDC as CU lost 66-64 on the road to start MEC play in 2017-18 before dropping a 96-94 decision at home. At Notre Dame, Concord came up short on a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 10 seconds left. Pool hit a triple with 14 seconds left to draw Concord within 94-92 of NDC, but the Mountain Lions could not get any closer.
NOT SINGING THE BLUES
Both teams the Mountain Lions play to start MEC play have blue as their primary color, however, a few Concord players have enjoyed successful games versus Notre Dame and Urbana. In 12 previous games against the two teams from Ohio, senior guard Emily Boothe is averaging 16.2 points per game. As a freshman, Boothe posted a career-best 26 points versus Notre Dame on the road. Overall, the Riner, Virginia native has had six double-digit games against NDC and Urbana. In her first two career games versus NDC last season, Fitzwater averaged 25 points and 14.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 74.1 percent (23-for-31) from the field. Pool was also impressive, scoring 18 points per game and going 15-for-29 from the floor against the Falcons.
LOCKDOWN
After falling to Urbana on the road last season, Concord limited UU in a 75-49 home win last season. The Mountain Lions shut down the Blue Knights as they shot just 29.7 percent (19-for-64) from the field. It began a string of four straight games in which CU had a defensive field-goal percentage of less than 40 percent. Fitzwater recorded seven blocks versus Urbana in the win last season.
NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
The Falcons have the reigning MEC Player of the Week with Seina Adachi. The guard leads the conference in scoring at 24.7 points per game and is shooting 47.4 percent from the field and also has 13 steals through three games. Notre Dame is ranked third in the MEC in points allowed per game (67.5) while Concord is right ahead of the Falcons at 66.0. Katie Karalic is pacing the conference in assists at 6.7 per game.
URBANA AT A GLANCE
Four different players scored in double figures for UU in its season-opening 77-75 loss led by Sylvia Hudson's 16 points. Hudson also grabbed seven rebounds versus Tiffin. Urbana limited Tiffin to 5-for-20 from three-point range in the contest.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 - Two points have decided the final score between CU and NDC's last two meetings
15.7 - Concord's average offensive boards per game, fourth in the conference
41.0 - Concord's overall shooting percentage from the field for this season
