Athens, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team defeated Bluefield State 56-43, Tuesday evening at the Carter Center.
The Mountain Lions (3-0) start off the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
Bluefield State (0-3) started the game leading 14-4 through the first seven minutes of play. From there, CU went on a 24-3 run, beginning with a layup by fifth-year forward
Riley Fitzwater. Fitzwater's presence in the paint was not matched, dropping 10 points on the run. Sophomore guard
Maddie Ratcliff helped grow CU's lead too, pouring in eight of her total 14 points coming on the nine-minute span.
Senior guard
Gracie Robinson added to the mix, splashing a three-pointer, three minutes into the second quarter. Aided by the run, the Mountain Lions led 34-22 at halftime.
Junior guard
Jazz Blankenship would nail back-to-back three-pointers with just under four minutes left in the third frame to push Concord's lead to 43-25, the largest of the game to that point.
The lead grew to 22 points, 54-32 with 6:37 left in the game after a free throw by senior guard
Maggie Guynn before CU settled for the 13-point win.
Fitzwater finished with the game lead in scoring with 18 points. She also added 11 rebounds and four blocks. Redshirt junior
Alexis Phillips put together a nice game off the bench, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds. Junior guard
Ashton Funderburg nabbed two steals and dished two assists on the night. Funderburg and Robinson combined for six points, seven rebounds, and six steals.
Off the bench, Funderburg had a plus-14 for the game in 17 minutes.
CU held Bluefield State to 23.2 percent (13-56) shooting.
The Mountain Lions start conference play at Charleston, Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
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