Concord Set for MEC Quarterfinal Matchup Against Notre Dame

Concord Stats - Notre Dame Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team opens up the Mountain East Conference Tournament 8:30 p.m. Thursday when it takes on Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and Steve Cox will have live radio play-by-play coverage of the contest on 94.5 "Willie" FM and streaming online at www.mywillie.com
Stats: The MEC Tournament will have live in-game statistics of the game. 
Video: Live streaming video will be provided from the MEC and WVMetroNews.com

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions finished the regular season with a mark of 20-10 overall and was 13-9 versus MEC foes.

Notre Dame sported the same conference record as CU and was 14-13 overall.

REACHING THE TOP
Over the weekend, fifth-year senior forward Riley Fitzwater became Concord's all-time leading scorer as she went over 2,050 career points, the previous program high set by Jina Skinner from 1989-92. Fitzwater netted 24 points at West Virginia State Wednesday to close within seven points of the record and added 20 points at Glenville State Saturday. The Glenville, West Virginia native is now at 2,064 career points, sixth most among active Division II players. Additionally, Fitzwater is the only active Division II women's basketball player with 2,000 points and 1,500 career as she has 1,544 career boards. Fitzwater is on the verge of breaking the all-time Division II record for career field-goal percentage. She's shooting 68.9 percent for her career and the record is 67.6 set from 1993-96 by Valdosta State's Deidre Williams. She has shot better than 60 percent in the last six games and at least 70 percent in 11 of the last 14 games.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
The Mountain Lions scored a season-high 101 points in their overtime win at West Virginia State last Wednesday to help secure a top four seed in the MEC Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. Fitzwater led the way with 24 points to go with 13 rebounds. But five other players chipped in double figures. The other four starters: sophomore guard Jaisah Smith (19), senior guard Maggie Guynn (16), junior guard Jazz Blankenship (13) and senior guard Gracie Robinson (12) all finished with at least 10 points and sophomore guard Maddie Ratcliff came off the bench with 11 points. It was the first time that Concord had six double-figure scorers since at least the 2007-08 season. CU shot 62.1 percent in the win at West Virginia State which was the highest percentage in an MEC game this season. Concord scored 101 points, making just five three-pointers as it tallied 54 points in the paint.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS
When Concord takes the court Thursday evening, it will do so with three players that have played in at least 100 career games. By playing at West Virginia State, Robinson recorded her 100^th career game played while Guynn (103) and Fitzwater (131) had already topped the mark. The trio has combined to play in 335 games. The only other school in the MEC with three or more players that have topped 100 career games played is Glenville State with Abby Stoller, Re'Shawn Stone, Zakiyah Winfield and Taychaun Hubbard. Throw in the fact that Blankenship (76) and junior guard Ashton Funderburg (75) have played in at least 75 career games makes Concord one of the most experienced teams in the MEC. Thursday will be the third straight year that CU plays in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game at the MEC Tournament, going 1-1 the previous two years. The Maroon and Gray defeated Urbana two years ago, but fell to Wheeling in overtime last year.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
Notre Dame leads the all-time series against Concord 15-3 with the Mountain Lions winning the most recent meeting, 56-50 in January at home. Of the last nine games between the most northern school in the MEC and most southern school in the league, seven have been decided by six points or less. And the eighth and ninth games were decided by seven and nine points, both CU wins in 2018-19. Earlier this season, Concord was unable to hang onto a lead in overtime as NDC won at home, 82-78, in double overtime. Smith paced CU with 23 points, one of two career 20-point games for the Bluefield, West Virginia native. Fitzwater added 19 points and 14 rebounds while Guynn posted 15 points. Junior forward Alexis Phillips was pressed into action for a career-high 30 minutes. In the six-point home win in January, the Mountain Lions overcame a tough shooting night (31.5 percent). It's the only time this season that Concord has won a game despite shooting lower than its opponent. Fitzwater had 17 points and 13 rebounds while Blankenship sank three three-pointers as part of her 14 points. 

LOW POST BATTLE
Two of the best post players will duel on Thursday evening when Fitzwater matches up against Notre Dame's Tamia Riley, an All-MEC Second Team selection. Fitzwater (12.1 rebounds per game) and Ridley (12.0) are first and second in the MEC in rebounds per game and rank seventh and eighth in Division II. Ridley is scoring 9.5 points per game compared to Fitzwater's 17.6 points per game. In November, Fitzwater added a season-best eight blocks to go with her double-double. Riley had 16 points and 15 rebounds. However, in January Ridley was limited to seven points and seven rebounds as Fitzwater had five blocks. In her career, Fitzwater is averaging 20.7 points and 12.3 rebounds in nine games against NDC. Additionally, she has shot 70.4 percent (81-for-115) against the Falcons across nine games. And in two games this season, Phillips has been key against Notre Dame as she ripped down a career-best 12 rebounds in the January win.

HERE TO ASSIST
The Mountain Lions are 14-3 this season when they pass out at least 15 assists, but one of the losses were to Notre Dame in November when they tied a season best with 24 assists on 31 made field goals. And in 11 of the 17 games where Concord has notched at least 15 assists, it has shot 45 percent or better for the game. CU ranks third in the MEC in assists per game (15.4), but it has been a by-committee approach as no player ranks in the top 15 in the league in assists per game. Smith (2.5), Robinson (2.4), Ratcliff (2.3) and Blankenship (2.0) all average at least two assists per game. Robinson needs six assists to move into the top 10 in program history in assists. For Notre Dame, it ranks 11^th in the MEC in assists per game (9.5).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Concord and Notre Dame are two of four teams in the MEC to finish in the top five each of the last four seasons with the other being Charleston and Glenville State.

12- Charges taken by Robinson this season, including one at home against NDC.

35- Combined ties and lead changes between the two teams in two games this season.

NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
After losing at Concord in late January, the Falcons finished the regular season winning seven of their final 10 games that included a five-game winning streak. The top scorer Alana Ellis (15.4 points per game) was an All-MEC Honorable Mention selection, but was a combined 7-of-34 against the Mountain Lions this season. After missing a bulk of the season, Jada Marone, an All-MEC selection from last season has returned to the lineup for the final six games of this season and is averaging 12.1 points since returning. In Notre Dame's 55-53 home win last season, CU's Funderburg and Robinson pestered Marone into a 4-of-18 showing from the floor. Lilee Carlson scored 21 points against CU in January.