BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team used a 7-0 run in the final three minutes of the first quarter to take a lead it would not give back as it defeated West Virginia Wesleyan 73-61 Wednesday night in a Mountain East Conference contest at the Rockefeller Center.
CU (18-9, 11-8 MEC) scored the first six points of the game, but trailed 16-11 seven minutes into the contest. The Mountain Lions posted the final seven points of the quarter to quickly erase the margin.
After trading buckets with WVWC (2-19, 1-18 MEC) over the first 2:18 of the second quarter, Concord rattled off a 16-4 scoring run to open up a 39-24 lead before Wesleyan hit a three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the first half.
Senior guard
Maggie Guynn keyed the run with 12 of her 24 points in the final seven minutes of the opening half. Junior forward
Alexis Phillips added four points.
The Bobcats scored the first four points of the third quarter, but Concord held Wesleyan to four points over the next 7:30 of the period to open up a 53-35 advantage, its largest margin of the game.
WVWC wasn't done, though, as it made a fourth-quarter charge, cutting the 18-point Concord lead down to 55-49 with 6:50 remaining. However, the Mountain Lions leaned on fifth-year senior forward
Riley Fitzwater and Guynn to pull away from the Bobcats.
Guynn started the run with one of her four three-pointers in the game. After a Fitzwater layup, Guynn canned another triple to push the advantage back to double figures, 63-51. The scoring run was 14-5 in length as Fitzwater and Guynn combined for all 14 points. Additionally, the second Guynn three-pointer gave Concord a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
Guynn (24 points) and Fitzwater (23 points) combined for 47 points in the contest. Guyn was 9-for-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. Fitzwater made eight of the 11 shots she took and added nine rebounds.
The Mountain Lions are 7-1 in the last four years when Guynn and Fitzwater both score at least 20 points.
Phillips came off the bench with her second double-double in the last four games, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Concord shot 45.6 percent in the contest and held the Bobcats to 39.3 percent. CU assisted on 23 of 26 made field goals in the game. Sophomore guard
Jaisah Smith had five assists. Phillips and sophomore guard
Maddie Ratcliff both had four assists.
The Mountain Lions welcome Davis & Elkins to the Carter Center for Senior Day 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
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