Concord Resumes Play Against Emory & Henry, West Liberty

Concord Stats - Emory & Henry Stats - West Liberty Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - After a 23-day break in game action, the Concord University women's basketball team travels to Emory & Henry 6:00 p.m. Monday for a non-conference clash before welcoming West Liberty to the Carter Center 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Mountain East Conference matchup.

LIVE COVERAGE
Both the Concord University and Emory & Henry Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live video of the two games. 

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY vs. Emory & Henry: First Meeting
SERIES HISTORY vs. West Liberty: WLU leads 29-10

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST LIBERTY
February 12, 2022: Concord 86 - West Liberty 75 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 5, 2022: Concord 88 - West Liberty 81 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 20, 2021: Concord 68 - West Liberty 56 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 15, 2020: Concord 79 - West Liberty 68 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 8, 2020: Concord 83 - West Liberty 71 (Athens, W.Va.)

MORE THAN 40
The Mountain Lions went into the Christmas break with a 74-63 overtime win at Frostburg State to improve to 3-6 this year. It was the first time that CU won inside Bobcat Arena since FSU joined the MEC, prior to the 2019-20 season. Junior guard Jaisah Smith scored 12 of her 16 points in the final three minutes of regulation and overtime as she finished two points shy of her season high. Smith also had two field goals in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter to help force overtime. Concord is 3-1 in its last four overtime games, dating back to last season. Freshman forward Abbie Smith posted 13 points while senior guard Ashton Funderburg added a season-best nine points.

PROVIDING DEPTH
CU's bench played a pivotal part in the Maroon and Gray's win at Frostburg State as it scored 42 of the 74 points, the third consecutive game posting 40 or more points by the Concord reserves. The Mountain Lions' bench scored 42 points in a 77-64 win over Notre Dame before netting 48 of the 69 points in a nine-point loss to Fairmont State. A. Smith led the bench effort at Frostburg State. Senior guard Jazz Blankenship matched Funderburg's output. Graduate forward Alexis Phillips chipped in seven points and six boards in 16 minutes off the bench. This season, Concord's bench is averaging 25.1 points per game, and has topped 30 points four times, and has only been held under 10 points once—the first game of the season.

HARD TO COME BY
Monday's game will be a matchup of two defensive-minded teams. The Mountain Lions rank fourth in the MEC in both scoring defense (70.0) and field-goal defense (40.1). CU limited Frostburg State to 30.4 percent shooting, the second lowest percentage of the year for the Maroon and Gray defense. Only Winston-Salem State and West Virginia State have shot better than 45 percent against CU this season. Meanwhile, Emory & Henry is holding teams to 36.6 percent shooting and 65.6 points per game. The Wasps rank sixth in the 13-team South Atlantic League in field-goal defense. E&H has topped 45 percent from the floor four times this season while Concord has made 45 percent of its shots twice this year—at Bluefield State and home against Notre Dame.

COMING HOME
Head coach Tesla Southcott has seven natives of southwestern Virginia on the roster as sophomore guard Drea Betts (Wytheville), freshman forward Taryn Blankenship (Dublin), graduate guard Maggie Guynn (Pearisburg), Phillips (Pulaski), junior guard Maddie Ratcliff (Pulaski), freshman guard Kennedy Scales (Salem) and junior guard Ale Sydnor (Bristol) have a pseudo homecoming Monday night. Sydnor grew up just 25 miles from the E&H campus and will have a reunion with high school teammate Amaya Lee, E&H's assist and steals leader. CU will have a reunion with Emory & Henry assistant coach Jacqueline Kestner who is a Concord alum, playing from 2011-15. Kestner's 649 rebounds are 10^th in program history and her 136 steals are 12^th in Concord history. She played for Southcott during the 2014-15 season which was Southcott's first season at CU as an assistant coach.

ONE SIDED
On Wednesday, the Mountain Lions look to extend a five-game series winning streak versus West Liberty, having also won seven of the last nine. CU topped 85 points in a season sweep of West Liberty last season as it won inside the ASRC January 5, 88-81. The Maroon and Gray won by 11 points, 86-75, at the Carter Center February 12. Guynn threw in 23 points in the home win on 8-for-12 shooting. J. Blankenship and Phillips were a combined 9-of-17 from the floor as both scored 12 points in the road victory over the Hilltoppers. Guynn is averaging 12.7 points per game in seven career contests versus WLU. The last West Liberty victory in the series came at the Carter Center February 2019.

POST POSITION
As has become accustomed with Concord and West Liberty, the post matchup will be one to watch Wednesday. West Liberty forward Arriana Manzay leads the MEC in scoring (20.9 points) and is second in rebounding (10.3) while shooting a staggering 67.4 percent from the floor. With the graduation of two-time All-American Riley Fitzwater, A. Smith has helped fill the void as ranks third among MEC freshmen in scoring (10.8) and rebounding (7.8). During its five-game win streak over West Liberty, the Mountain Lions have scored at least 40 points in the paint, including topping 50 twice. In two of the last three games against CU, the Hilltoppers have been held under 30 points in the paint.

EFFICIENT OFFENSES
Led by the post play of Manzay and the sharpshooting Karly McCutcheon, West Liberty is the only team in the MEC shooting better than 45 percent from the floor (46.3). Other than a November matchup versus Charleston, this will be the only time this season Concord faces a team that's shooting better than 40 percent from the field. Offensively, CU is coming off one of its best games of the season at the foul line (78.6 percent 22-for-28). J. Smith, the MEC leader in free throw percentage (90.2 / 37-of-41), made all six free throws at Frostburg State while Phillips and A. Smith combined to go 10-of-12 at the charity stripe. The Mountain Lions have shot 42.2 percent from the field in their last three games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1- Monday will be the first all-time meeting between Concord and Emory & Henry.

3- Charges taken by Funderburg over the last two games.

45- Field-goal percentage for CU in eight of the last 10 games versus West Liberty.

EMORY & HENRY AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 5-6
SAC Record: 2-2
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 1-3
Neutral Record: 0-1

SCOUTING THE WASPS
In its second year as a Division II school, Emory & Henry is just a game below .500 and has won two games in the highly-competitive SAC. E&H will be 16 days between games with its last contest coming in an 81-45 loss to Carson-Newman. Breanna Yarber (10.9) and Emma Santoro (10.6) are the only two Emory & Henry players that average double figures. Along with leading the Wasps in assists (4.1 per game) and steals (14), Lee has made a team-best 14 three-pointers while playing 33.5 minutes per game.

WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 6-5
MEC Record: 4-2
Home Record: 3-2
Away Record: 2-2
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
McCutcheon and Manzay have complemented each other with McCutcheon fourth in the MEC in scoring (18.9 points) while leading  the MEC lead in three-pointers made (37) and shooting 44 percent from three-point range, second in the league. Overall, McCutcheon shoots 53.5 percent from the floor. West Liberty will be just four days between games as it played nationally-ranked, nationally-rated Ashland Saturday afternoon, losing 97-68. Grace Faulk (9.9 points) and Natalija Sekulovska (9.1 points) are just shy of double figures.