ATHENS, W.Va. -- The Concord University women's basketball team finishes up the regular season with Senior Night 5:30 p.m. Wednesday against West Virginia State before heading to UVa.-Wise 2:00 p.m. Saturday in two Mountain East Conference games.
LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: The Concord University and UVa.-Wise Sports Information Departments will provide live in-game statistics.
Video: Both Sports Information Departments of Concord University and UVa.-Wise will also provide live in-game streaming.
RECORDS
CU is currently tied for second in the league standings with Charleston at 16-4 while sporting a 21-5 overall mark.
West Virginia State is 6-20 overall and 5-15 in the MEC.
UVa.-Wise enters play this week with a record of 13-13 and is 11-9 versus MEC foes.
RECORD WEEKEND
By winning both games at Notre Dame and Urbana, the Mountain Lions reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Additionally, it was just the fourth 20-win season for the Maroon and Gray in head coach Kenny Osborne's 19-year tenure at CU. With a 59-54 win at Urbana, Concord tallied its 21st win which sets the single-season record for most regular season wins. The all-time record for wins in a season is 23, set by the 2011-12 team.
COME BACK KIDS
In three of its last four wins, CU has faced a double-digit deficit at some point in the games against Shepherd, Notre Dame and Urbana. At SU, Concord was down 13 in the third quarter. The Mountain Lions got behind by 17 points early in the third quarter against Notre Dame and faced a deficit of 15 points in the second quarter at Urbana. In the second halves of those games, CU is outscored its opponents by an average of 23.3 to 15.6 and was only been outscored in one of the six quarters—16-13—in the fourth quarter at UU. This season, the Mountain Lions have trailed nine times at halftime and have come back to win five game including in all three instances in the last two weeks.
SENIOR RECOGNITION
Prior to Wednesday night's game, guard Emily Boothe, guard Andreanna Pool and forward Courtney White will be honored for their accomplishments on the court at CU. When Boothe's career wraps up, the Riner, Virginia native will finish top 10 at Concord in three-pointers made, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, assists, steals and games played. When Boothe takes the floor Wednesday, it will be her 113th career game which will move her into a tie for fourth in all-time games played in the Maroon and Gray. Additionally, Boothe is one of three players in program history with career numbers of 900 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists and 150 steals. As Concord's second-leading scorer this season, Pool is averaging 16.6 points per game. The Durham, North Carolina native is fourth in three-point percentage at CU with a mark of 37.7 percent over the last two seasons. Her 3.5 assists per game in 54 career games at Concord ranks fourth all-time. Pool is 10 assists shy of 200 for her career. For White, she has appeared in 71 games. Earlier this season, she helped the Mountain Lions pick up a pivotal MEC victory with a career-high 10 points off the bench versus Notre Dame. Due to injury, White has only appeared in five games this season. During their four years in a Concord uniform, Boothe and White have watched the Mountain Lions go from five wins to seven to 13 last year and 21 this season.
LONG TIME NO SEE
Concord will go nearly three months between games against West Virginia State. The Mountain Lions picked up an 85-71 win at WVSU on December 1. Sophomore forward Riley Fitzwater recorded the first triple-double in program history with 10 points, 20 rebounds and 11 blocks. In three career games versus the Yellow Jackets, Fitzwater is averaging 12.3 points, 15.6 rebounds and 7.6 blocks per game. Also on December 1, May dropped in a career-best 32 points on 11-for-16 shooting. The Athens, West Virginia native also had a double-double by pulling in 14 rebounds.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
The Mountain Lions and UVa.-Wise are two of the top defensive teams in the league. CU leads the MEC in field goal defense at 38.2 percent while the Cavaliers also holds opponents under 40 percent, 38.6, tied for second in the conference. UVa.-Wise is one of two teams in the MEC holding opponents under 70 points per game while Concord isn't far off, allowing 70.9 points per game. Earlier this season, the Mountain Lions shot just 40.7 percent from the field while holding UVa.-Wise to 36.4 percent in a 73-67 CU win. Heading into this week, Concord has held its opponents to 45 percent or less shooting in four straight games and overall has given up 45 percent from the field just three times this season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
210- Free throws taken by May in 2018-19, the most by Concord player in seven seasons.
7- Blocks needed by Fitzwater to become the all-time leader at Concord.
34- Wins by Concord's senior class over the last two seasons, most for a group of seniors over two years since the 39 wins posted by the 2011-12 class.
WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
The Yellow Jackets average 10.4 steals per game which ranks third in the MEC. While forcing 19.9 turnovers per game, West Virginia State is giving up the ball 20.8 times per game. WVSU had lost nine of 10 games before getting a 79-63 win over Shepherd last week at home. Anesha Harmon is scoring 11.1 points per game to lead the Yellow Jackets. MEC Freshman of the Year candidate Charity Shears is averaging 10.4 points per game while playing 22.6 minutes per contest.
UVA.-WISE AT A GLANCE
Cynita Webb is averaging a double-double for the Cavaliers with 14.2 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per contest. A year after winning just six games, UVa.-Wise has more than doubled its win total from last season with 13 victories under first-year head coach and former Concord standout Jamie Cluesman. Cluesman, who was also an assistant under Osborne, has the Cavaliers in position to finish in the top half of the MEC. With Webb as the leader, UVa.-Wise is third in the MEC in rebounding margin at +3.9.
