Concord Starts Season Against Clarion, Winston-Salem State

Concord Stats - Clarion Stats - Winston-Salem State Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team tips off the season at the Atlantic Regional Crossover hosted by Fairmont State at Joe Retton Arena, with CU playing Clarion 2:00 p.m. Friday and Winston-Salem State 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Fairmont State Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics and live streaming video of the games this weekend. 

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY vs. Clarion: Concord leads 5-3
SERIES HISTORY vs. Winston-Salem State: WSSU leads 2-1

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS CLARION
November 14, 2021: Concord 72 - Clarion 70 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
November 10, 2017: Clarion 73 - Concord 66 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
November 12, 2016: Clarion 87 - Concord 56 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
November 10, 2012: Clarion 81 - Concord 75 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
December 31, 2010: Concord 59 - Clarion 51 (Fairmont, W.Va.)

ALL-TIME MEETINGS AGAINST WINSTON-SALEM STATE
November 13, 2021: Concord 78 - Winston-Salem State 75 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
December 11, 2016: Winston-Salem State 65 - Concord 61 (Athens, W.Va.)
December 14, 2015: Winston-Salem State 69 - Concord 49 (Winston-Salem, N.C.)  

SPREADING IT AROUND
Though the Mountain Lions have to replace the production of 2,000-point scorer and two-time All-American Riley Fitzwater as well as the 102 career games played by Gracie Robinson, Concord brings back five players that averaged at least seven points per game in 2021-22. Graduate guard Maggie Guynn is the active leading scorer in the Mountain East Conference with 1,246 career points, 10^th all-time at CU. Guynn posted 10.9 points per game last season. Junior guard Maddie Ratcliff finished 2021-22 by scoring in double figures in eight of her final 12 games, including a career-best 22 points at Alderson Broaddus. She scored 10.0 points per game. Senior guard Jazz Blankenship netted a team-best 51 three-pointers last season as she shot 33.8 percent from three-point distance and scored 9.0 points per game.

REPEATING HISTORY
First-year head coach Tesla Southcott makes her debut on the sidelines Friday afternoon after spending the previous eight seasons as the Concord assistant coach. Southcott and her team looks to carry on the tradition of 20-win seasons for the Maroon and Gray. CU has posted three straight 20-win seasons in the last three fully played seasons, sporting a record of 64-27. That record is extended to 73-34 with the 2021 shortened The only other teams with more wins in the MEC since 2018 are Charleston and Glenville State. The previous mark for the most wins in a three-year run in program history was from 2005-08 when Concord won 55 games.

DOING THE LITTLE THINGS
Two returners for the Mountain Lions are senior guard Ashton Funderburg and graduate forward Alexis Phillips. Funderburg starts the season having played in 76 career games, trailing only Guynn (104) and Blankenship (77). The Sevierville, Tennessee native finished last season by taking eight charges. Phillips enjoyed her most successful season at Concord last winter by scoring 7.1 points per game and grabbing 6.0 rebounds per contest. Nearly 40 percent (65-of-169) of Phillips' reboundx came on the offensive end as she had at least one offensive board in all 28 games played.

RIGHT AT HOME
The Mountain Lions went 2-0 at the Atlantic Regional Crossover to start last season, defeating the same two teams they will oppose in 2022-23. Though in a loss to Fairmont State in early December, junior guard Jaisah Smith had her best career games in the Maroon and Gray inside Joe Retton Arena. Smith posted a career-best 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds on December 8. In her last eight games at Joe Retton Arena, Guynn is averaging 12.2 points per game, scoring at least 15 points in half of those games. Ratcliff erupted for 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting at Fairmont State in late January 2021.

GRINDING IT OUT
During Concord's recent run of success, the Mountain Lions have made themselves into a tough team to score against. Last season, CU limited teams to 37.9 percent shooting from the field. That ranked second in the MEC. Over the final 10 games of the 2021-22 season, the Maroon and Gray held five teams under 40 percent shooting, and three teams to 35 percent or less. The only team to shoot better than 45 percent on Concord in the final month of the season was the eventual national champion, Glenville State. CU's defense took a hit with Fitzwater protecting the rim and Robinson drawing a team-best 14 charges in 2021-22.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Mountain Lions needed a late Blankenship bucket to escape against Clarion last season, 72-70. Blankenship made a layup with 24 seconds remaining as Concord erased a four-point deficit to start the fourth quarter. Blankenship netted 12 points. Ratcliff went for a then career-high 19 points versus the Golden Eagles. Phillips added 10 points and nine rebounds which at the time would have been her first career double-double. The Mountain Lions also overcame 14 three-pointers by Clarion, but held CU to 36.8 percent shooting from the field. It was the first win for Concord over the Golden Eagles since the 2010-11 season. Concord holds a 5-3 all-time series advantage over Clarion.

WORKING EXTRA
Ratcliff was in the middle of Concord's overtime win over Winston-Salem State to open the 2021-22 campaign. Her jumper with 65 seconds remaining pushed the game to an extra session. Guynn scored 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting while Smith (16) and Ratcliff (13) combined for 29 points in the 78-75 win over the Rams. Guynn also hit three of the six three-pointers for CU. WSSU hit nine three-pointers in just 14 attempts. Concord's defense overcame a 47-percent shooting day by the Rams by forcing 22 turnovers. Smith had two of the nine steals for the Mountain Lions. It was the first win for Concord over Winston-Salem State in three tries.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
17- Games CU played in last season that were decided by 10 points or less as it went 11-6 in such games.

22- Seasons since Concord had a new coach on the sidelines as retired coach Kenny Osborne's first year in Athens was 2000.

74- Concord shot 74 percent from the foul line in both games last season versus Clarion and Winston-Salem State.

CLARION AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 5-22
PSAC Record: 4-18
Home Record: 3-10
Away Record: 2-11
Neutral Record: 0-1

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Like Concord, Clarion starts the season with a first-year head coach in Jermaine Cooper. The Golden Eagles welcome back their top scorer from a season ago in Sierra Bermudez who scored 14.2 points per game and shot 35.1 percent from three-point range. Jada Smith finished last year with 8.6 points per game and a team-best 6.9 rebounds. Clarion scored 59.5 points per game last season and shot 37.7 percent from the field. CU did turn teams over nearly 15 times per game.

WINSTON-SALEM STATE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 12-13
CIAA Record: 7-9
Home Record: 8-3
Away Record: 3-8
Neutral Record: 1-2

SCOUTING THE RAMS
WSSU was one game shy of finishing .500 as it went 12-13 last winter. The Rams had a balanced attack last season as five players averaged 10 or more points. Amaya Tucker led the group with 13.6 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. However, the other four double-digit scorers have departed. Kendra Ross notched 8.4 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Ten of the 25 games for Winston-Salem State were decided by nine points or less. Tucker scored 20 on Concord last season.