Concord Awaits Tests Against Alderson-Broaddus, Notre Dame

Concord Stats - Alderson-Broaddus Stats - Notre Dame Stats - Live Stats - Live Video

ATHENS, W.Va. - Off a 75-69 win before Thanksgiving against West Virginia State, the Concord University women's basketball team hosts Alderson-Broaddus 5:30 p.m. Wednesday before traveling to Notre Dame 2:00 p.m.Saturday in a pair of Mountain East Conference games.

LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: The Concord University and Notre Dame College Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics of both games. 
Video: Live streaming video will be provided by Concord and Notre Dame

RECORDS
CU is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Winners of three straight, A-B is 3-2 overall and 1-1 against MEC teams.

Notre Dame has won three of four to even its record at 3-3 and the Falcons are 2-0 in conference play.

HIGH POST POINTS
Senior guard Maggie Guynn bagged a career-best 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting versus West Virginia State, scoring 19 points after halftime. Of the 12 field goals for Guynn, ten were in the high post/foul line area against West Virginia State. After the outburst last week, the Pearisburg, Virginia native is left nine points shy of 1,000 for her career. Earlier this season, Guynn went over 100 career three-pointers. She would become the sixth player in program history with 1,000 career points and 100 three-pointers, and would become the first since Camisha Alexander in 2011-12. Guynn's 31 points against West Virginia State comes after she posted just 31 points in CU's first four games of the season.

HANDY HELPERS
Against West Virginia State, the Mountain Lions passed out a season-high 24 assists on 26 field goals. Sophomore guard Maddie Ratcliff tallied a career-best five assists, but six Concord players had at least three assists. Junior guard Jazz Blankenship finished with four assists, one of her career high, versus WVSU. CU ranks fourth in the MEC in assists per game this season at 13.4. Against Alderson-Broaddus last season, the Mountain Lions passed out 19 assists on 30 made field goals. Sophomore guard Jaisah Smith had four assists and no turnovers in 23 minutes while junior guard Ashton Funderburg came off the bench with three assists and no turnovers in 15 minutes. CU's 24 assists last game are the most in an MEC game this season. Meanwhile, Alderson-Broaddus has had 21 assists in two different games this season, including the most recent against Virginia State.

ROLLING ALONG
In the first meeting with the Battlers since 2012-13, Concord rolled past Alderson-Broaddus last season at the Carter Center, 95-54. The 41-point margin of victory was the largest for the Maroon and Gray in program history. CU shot 46.5 percent from the field while holding the Battlers to 29.5 and also forcing 22 turnovers. It marked a season high in turnovers forced by the Mountain Lions. Blankenship came off the bench to score 17 points in just 14 minutes as she finished the first quarter on a personal 16-0 run. Fifth-year senior forward Riley Fitzwater had a near triple-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks. Behind Blankenship and 11 more points from Ratcliff, Concord's bench scored 44 of the 95 points.

STRENGTH ON STRENGTH
Second-year head coach Summer Quesenberry has turned the Battlers into one of the most potent offenses in the MEC as A-B averages a league-best 95 points per game. On Wednesday night, one of the league's toughest defenses match up with Alderson-Broaddus. Concord ranks third in the MEC in scoring defense, giving up just 66.8 points per game and the Mountain Lions' field-goal defense of 35.4 percent is second in the conference. Alderson-Broaddus ranks first in the MEC in field-goal offense (46.8). On the flip side, A-B is allowing opponents to score over 100 points per game this season and shoot 44 percent, the same rate that CU makes shots. Powered by Guynn and Fitzwater's 7-of-8 performance versus WVSU, the Mountain Lions shot a season-best 51.7 percent last week.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Mountain Lions have won just two of their last seven games versus Notre Dame, both during the 2018-19 season. However, all seven games have been decided by nine points or less, including a 55-53 win for the Falcons last season in Ohio. CU held Notre Dame to 30.9 percent shooting, but was unable to overcome 21 turnovers in the loss. Two seasons ago at NDC, Concord dropped an 82-76 decision in overtime as Blankenship and Guynn combined for 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting off the bench. In seven games versus the Falcons, Fitzwater is averaging 21.5 points and 12 rebounds per game and dropped in a career-high 34 points as a freshman in 2017-18. Fitzwater has recorded a double-double in five of seven career games versus NDC.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3- Games difference in the all-time series between A-B and CU as Concord leads 13-10.

13- Points needed by Fitzwater to move into the top five in scoring at CU. She currently sits at 1,655 for her career.

40- Despite shooting just 37 percent for the season, NDC has shot 40 percent or better in its last three games.

ALDERSON-BROADDUS AT A GLANCE
The Battlers have four players averaging double figures, led by Iyahnna Williams' 18.0 points per game. Williams is third in the league in scoring. A pair of natives from Summers County also score 10 or more points per game. Hannah Taylor is fifth in the MEC in scoring at 17.5 while freshman Taylor Isaac scores 11.3 points per game off the bench. Ariyah Douglas notches 13.8 points per game. Alderson-Broaddus has scored at least 80 points in all five games this season. The Battlers have the MEC's third-best rebounding margin at 7.5 and snatch 15 offensive rebounds per game.

NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
Two of the three losses for NDC this season have come to Slippery Rock. The Falcons opened league play last week with victories over West Liberty and Wheeling. All-MEC First Team guard Jada Marone has only played in two games this season, averaging 14.5 points per game. Alana Ellis averages 18.5 points per game and is second in the MEC in scoring. Notre Dame is only shooting 37.8 percent from the field this season while giving up 45.8 percent to opponents. Ellis and Jen Oduho are both shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range with Oduho pitching in 15.0 points per game.