Concord Faces Stern Tests Against Charleston, Glenville State

Concord Stats - Charleston Stats - Glenville State Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team puts its five-game winning streak up against Charleston 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and Glenville State 2:00 p.m. Saturday in a pair of Mountain East Conference games at the Carter Center.

LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: The Conocrd University Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics of both games this week at home. 
Video: Live streaming video of the game will be available through the Concord SID Office. 

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are 12-4 this season and 7-3 in conference play.

Charleston has marks of 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the MEC.

Glenville State is undefeated with a record of 14-0 and is 9-0 versus the MEC. The Pioneers are ranked third in Division II.

MULTIPLE OPTIONS
In an 81-66 win at Davis & Elkins Saturday, Concord put five players in a double figures with a sixth player, senior guard Gracie Robinson netting nine points. It marked the first time since a February 2021 win at West Virginia State that CU had five double-digit scorers in the same game. Fifth-year senior forward Riley Fitzwater notched her 10^th double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds versus the Senators. Sophomore guards Maddie Ratcliff and Jaisah Smith both tallied 13 points with Ratcliff tying her career high with three three-pointers, and Smith collecting a career-best nine rebounds. Senior guard Maggie Guynn had 12 points and junior guard Jazz Blankenship added 10 points. Robinson had nine points for a second consecutive game. Concord has four double-digit scorers for the season: Fitzwater (15.8), Guynn (10.9), Smith (10.4) and Blankenship (10.2). Throw in Ratcliff's 9.1 points per game and junior forward Alexis Phillips' 6.8 points per game, and CU is one of five teams in the MEC with six or more players averaging at least six points.

SWAT TEAM
With 14 blocks across three games last week, Fitzwater is left one block shy of 500 for her career. Fitzwater is the active career leader in blocks across all divisions of women's college basketball with BYU's Sara Hamson checking in at 472. With one more block, Fitzwater would also become the first Division II player since Fort Hays State's Kate Lehman in 2015 with 1,800 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 career blocks. Fitzwater is also closing in on 1,500 career rebounds with 1,417. In addition to Fitzwater, Phillips swatted five shots last week and has seven blocks in her last four games. The Pulaski, Virginia native had a career-best three blocks versus West Virginia Wesleyan. Led by Fitzwater and Phillips, Concord is ninth in Division II in blocks per game with 5.8. Individually, Fitzwater is second Division II with 3.7 blocks per game.

DEFENSE IN A MINDSET
The Mountain Lions are third in the MEC in scoring defense at 65.4, and since the start of December they have only given up more than 70 points in a non-overtime game twice. CU is the MEC leader in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 35.3 percent from the floor. This week, though, Concord will run up against two stout defenses. Glenville State is giving up the fewest points in the MEC at 61.4 per game while UC is second in scoring defense (64.6). Charleston is right behind CU in field-goal defense (second / 36.3) while Glenville State is the fourth and final team in the MEC allowing less than 40 percent from the floor (39.5). Concord has been able to solve the UC defense recently, shooting 45 percent or better in three of the last five meetings.

UPSET ON THE MIND
Last season, Concord welcomed Charleston and Glenville State on back-to-back Saturdays when both teams were ranked and defeated both. The Golden Eagles were nationally-rated third and 13-0 when CU knocked them off 59-54. Ratcliff scored 17 points in 16 minutes to aid the upset. Guynn pitched in 16 points and Fitzwater added a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. CU held Charleston to 27.8 percent shooting in the contest. A different type game broke a week later when Concord took down 17^th-ranked Glenville State, 97-86. Concord shot 60.6 percent (40-of-66) from the floor. Fitzwater tied her career high with 34 points on 17-of-22 shooting. Guynn dumped in 23 more points on 7-for-12 from the floor. CU will be going for a third-straight home win over the Pioneers. At the end of the 2019-20 season, the Maroon and Gray won 103-102 at the Carter Center. Fitzwater supplied 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting while grabbing 18 rebounds.

CLOSE EM OUT
The Mountain Lions are 11-0 when leading at halftime this season. CU is +65 (331-266) in the second quarter of games and +30 (229-199) in the third quarter. That's compared to +19 in the first quarter and just +10 in the fourth. Additionally, Concord is shooting 70.2 percent as a team at the foul line in the final three minutes of games this season, led by junior guard Ashton Funderburg hitting all six attempts. Guynn has made 8-of-10 free throws in closing out games. As for last year's wins over Charleston and Glenville State, Ratcliff helped Concord close out Charleston, scoring eight of her 17 points in the final 3:24 of the contest. In the victory over GSC, the Maroon and Gray shot 64.7 percent from the floor in the fourth and outscored the Pioneers 29-18.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
28- Assists by Concord in last year's win over GSC, including six from Guynn and four each from Fitzwater, Funderburg and Robinson.

32- Points needed by Guynn to move into the top 15 in scoring at Concord as she sits at 1,103 career points.

800- Made field goals for Fitzwater in her career.

CHARLESTON AT A GLANCE
After not playing since December 13, the Golden Eagles picked up a hard-fought double overtime win on the road Saturday over Notre Dame, 79-72. Despite trailing for over 35 minutes in the game, Charleston got a layup at the regulation buzzer from Clarrissa Francis to force overtime. UC let a six-point overtime lead slip away, but used a 7-0 run in double overtime to separate from NDC. Markyia McCormick hit seven three-pointers in Charleston's 77-69 win over Concord in November and scored 32 points. McCormick had 23 points in Saturday's game. UC held Concord to 35.3 percent shooting in the early season win.

GLENVILLE STATE AT A GLANCE
Since holding off Bloomsburg 81-79 to start the season, Glenville State has won 13 straight games by double digits. Some of the wins include a 116-51 win over Notre Dame, a 141-55 victory over Wheeling and the two latest wins by 72 over Davis & Elkins and 60 over West Virginia Wesleyan. GSC leads Division II in points per game (101.0) scoring margin (39.6), steals per game (16.1) and turnover margin (+14.3). Re'Shawna Stone's 18.9 points per game lead the MEC while Zakiyah Winfield is third in scoring (17.3). GSC was held to seven three-pointers and 18.9 percent shooting from distance in last season's loss at Concord.