Concord Closes Road Trip at Alderson Broaddus

Concord Stats - Alderson Broaddus Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team takes on Alderson Broaddus in a Mountain East Conference road game 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rex Pyles Arena.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Alderson Broaddus Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics and live video of Wednesday's game. 

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 14-11

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
January 29, 2022: Alderson Broaddus 77 - Concord 64 (Philippi, W.Va.)
December 1, 2021: Concord 91 - Alderson Broaddus 52 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 3, 2021: Concord 95 - Alderson Broaddus 54 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 5, 2013: Alderson Broaddus 61 - Concord 59 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 20, 2012: Alderson Broaddus 73 - Concord 68 (OT) (Philippi, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 1-4
MEC Record: 0-2
Home Record: 0-1
Away Record: 0-2
Neutral Record: 1-1

SECOND CHANCES
Concord grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in its game versus West Virginia State last Tuesday which was the first time grabbing 20 or more offensive boards since the penultimate game of the 2020 season, also against West Virginia State. Six of the seven rebounds for graduate guard Maggie Guynn came on the offensive end last week against West Virginia State. Freshman forward Abbie Smith added five offensive rebounds while junior guard Jaisah Smith nabbed three offensive boards. CU turned the 21 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. The Mountain Lions are fourth in the MEC with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game this season. AB is giving up 13.0 offensive boards per contest.

SECOND UNIT
The Maroon and Gray bench played a pivotal role on Tuesday at WVSU as it tallied half of Concord's 70 points. Smith just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Nakaila Gray scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds and came up with two steals in 26 minutes of action off the bench. Depth could be key Wednesday as CU has eight players averaging at least 16 minutes per game, and 11 players that are playing five or more minutes. Meanwhile, Alderson Broaddus only has seven players that have seen regular action this season. Furthermore, ABU has four players that are in the top eight of the MEC in minutes played.

TAKE CARE OF IT
Against West Virginia State's full-court pressure, Concord turned the ball over 29 times. The Mountain Lions will get relief from the pressure of the WVSU defense as Alderson Broaddus only turns teams over 14.7 times per game, second fewest in the MEC. On the other side, CU's pressure defense has been having its own success this season. The Mountain Lions are forcing 19.8 turnovers per game, fifth in the MEC. ABU is averaging the fifth-most turnovers in the league in 2022-23 as it commits 18.2 turnovers per game. Junior guard Maddie Ratcliff ranks in a tie for seventh in the MEC in steals per game (1.8).

SEASON SPLIT
Concord and Alderson Broaddus split two games last season with the home team winning each time. The Maroon and Gray exploded for 91 points in a 39-point win at home on December 1 of last season. Concord shot 52.8 percent from the floor and turned the Battlers over 20 times in the win. Riley Fitzwater provided 24 points and 11 rebounds. Three other Mountain Lions finished in double figures: senior guard Jazz Blankenship (14), J. Smith (13) and Guynn (12). Senior guard Ashton Funderburg impacted the game with seven assists in 19 minutes off the bench. ABU came back with a 77-64 win over Concord on January 29. With five prominent players missing from the CU lineup, including Guynn and graduate forward Alexis Phillips, Ratcliff paced the offense with 22 points, a career best. Gray tossed in a career-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

TOUGH ROAD
While CU hasn't consistently played Alderson Broaddus, the Mountain Lions will be looking for their first win inside Rex Pyles Arena since November 2009—head coach Tesla Southcott's freshman year at Ferrum College. Before January's meeting last season, the most recent trip into Philippi was a 73-68 overtime loss to the Battlers in November 2012. Concord rolled to a 75-44 win in 2009. The Mountain Lions will also match up against a native of southern West Virginia in Hinton native Hannah Taylor. CU held Taylor to four points in the first meeting last season, but she had 13 points versus Concord in January.

SHOOTERS SHOOT
In three career games versus the Battlers, Blankenship has hit 50 percent of her three-point attempts (7-of-14). Two seasons ago, Blankenship made four three-pointers as part of her then career-high 17 points against the Battlers. Blankenship added a 3-for-4 showing from the beyond arc in last season's win. Concord shot 40 percent from three-point distance two years ago versus Alderson Broaddus, and was 37 percent (8-of-22) in last December's win. However, CU was held to 22.7 percent (5-for-22) from three-point range in January.  Concord is only shooting 28.2 percent from deep in five games this year, however, Alderson Broaddus is allowing teams to shoot 32.8 percent from beyond the arc this season, ninth in the conference.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1- J. Smith is ranked first in the MEC in free-throw shooting (95.0/19-of-20)

24- Assists by Concord in last year's win over Alderson Broaddus.

83.8- ABU ranks last in the MEC in scoring defense.

ALDERSON BROADDUS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 1-5
MEC Record: 0-2
Home Record: 0-2
Away Record: 0-2
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE BATTLERS
Iyahnna Williams is the top returner for first-year head coach Ta-Rel Franklin as she averages 19.0 points per game, seventh in the MEC, and 9.7 rebounds per contest, second in the league. Taylor is adding 14.5 points per game while Amil Mitchell pours in 13.0 points per game. Alderson Broaddus has lost five straight games since winning the season opener against Shepherd. The most recent game for the Battlers was a Monday loss to nationally-ranked California (Pa.).