Concord Falls in Season Opener to Seton Hill

GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Concord University women's basketball team was defeated on the road against Seton Hill, 90-75 Friday afternoon in the McKenna Center.
 
After finding themselves in a 10-3 hole early in the first quarter, the Mountain Lions (0-1) made back-to-back layups from senior guard Maddie Ratcliff and sophomore forward Abbie Smith to bring CU within four, 13-9. A three-pointer from junior guard Skylar Davidson gave the Mountain Lions the lead, 15-14, with 2:57 remaining in the opening quarter. And a two-point field goal from the right corner by graduate forward Alexis Phillips pushed Concord ahead of the Griffins (1-0) 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.  
 
A quick three from graduate guard Nakaila Gray and layup from Davidson extended the lead to 24-20 to open the second quarter. Freshman guard Ana Young knocked down the first three-point basket of her career to take a double-digit lead, 32-26, with 5:33 remaining in the first half to break some SHU momentum. However, Seton Hill capitalized on an 11-1 scoring run to take a 37-33 lead. And the Griffins held on to the four-point margin at halftime, 40-36.
 
 A 10-1 Concord run midway through the third quarter gave the Mountain Lions a 47-46 edge.. The spurt was led by a pair of Glenville State transfers as junior guard/forward Deja Atkinson connected on a layup and Davison buried her second triple of the game. Senior guard Jazz Blankenship continued the run as she hit another three-pointer, 50-46. After Ratcliff tied the game, 57-57, in the waning seconds of the period, it was Seton Hill ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 62-57 lead into the final frame of the season opener.  
 
Layups by Gray and Blankenship cut SHU's lead to eight-points, 69-61 with 6:06 remaining in the game after SHU had opened up a double-digit lead. Chasing the lead late, CU got to within 71-65 with 5:13 remaining, but could not close the gap any further.
 
Davidson was CU's leading scorer with 16 points on 6-13 shooting and 2-3 from three.  Abbie Smith picked up a double-double as she totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds. Blankenship tossed in 13 points in 12 minutes off the bench.
 
Maddie Ratcliff filled her stat line with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal.  
 
The Mountain Lions will face Lock Haven Saturday in a neutral-site contest at the McKenna Center starting at 4:00 p.m.