Concord Clashes with Bluefield State in Home Opener

Concord Stats - Bluefield State Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team welcomes Mercer County rival Bluefield State to the Carter Center for its first home game of the 2023-24 season starting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for the contest.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Concord leads 38-16
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST BLUEFIELD STATE
February 13, 2023: Concord 70 – Bluefield State 63 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 15, 2022: Bluefield State 80 – Concord 74 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
February 14, 2022: Concord 75 – Bluefield State 68 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
November 16, 2021: Concord 56 – Bluefield State 43 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 3, 2020: Concord 63 – Bluefield State 53 (Athens, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 0-2
MEC Record: 0-0
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 0-1
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
EARLY SEASON SWIPES
Through their first two games this season, the Mountain Lions are averaging 10 steals per game. Nine different CU players have recorded a steal to start the season. Junior guard/forward Deja Atkinson notched a team-high five steals against Lock Haven. Atkinson ranks fifth in the Mountain East Conference averaging 3.0 steals per game. Senior guard Jaisah Smith and freshman guard Ana Young have also had games of more than one steal. Of the teams that have logged two games in the MEC, Concord sits in fourth in steals per game as a team. Smith was tied for sixth in the conference last year where she averaged 2.0 steals per game.  
 
REJECTION AT THE RIM
Graduate forward Alexis Phillips recorded a new career-high of four blocks against Seton Hill on Friday. Phillips is tied for first in the MEC with Frostburg State's Jasmine Johnson averaging 2.0 blocks per game. Phillips is currently ninth in program history with 52 career blocks. She is coming off of back-to-back 20-block seasons and has ranked inside the top 20 in the MEC both winters. Her four-block performance is the highest in a single game through the first week of the 2023-24 season.
 
IT MEANS MORE
Both Concord and Bluefield State have players from the local southern West Virginia area. Concord sports three players on its roster from Mercer County including freshman guard Autumn Bane and sophomore guard Hannah Perdue from Princeton, W.Va, as well as senior guard Jaisah Smith, a Bluefield, W.Va. native. Nine other CU players hail from southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia. Bluefield State freshman guard Paige Altizer is a native of Renick, W.Va. in nearby Greenbrier County. Concord transfer junior guard Drea Betts will suit up for the Big Blues in their season opener Wednesday.
 
FAMILIAR FOE
Senior guard Maddie Ratcliff is no stranger to the Bluefield State rivalry. Wednesday will make her fifth game against the Big Blues. In her four career games against BSU, Ratcliff is averaging 12.8 points per game and 1.5 assists per game against Bluefield State. This includes a 20-point performance at Ned Shott Gymnasium on February 14, 2022 that helped CU hold off BSU for a 75-68 victory. Ratcliff made eight free throws in the final four minutes of the game, as she finished 12-12 from the charity stripe.
 
HEATIN' UP
CU took a 32-29 lead into halftime against Bluefield State last winter in Athens. Despite Concord shooting 50 percent (5-10) from the field in the third quarter, BSU led 44-43 going into the final 10 minutes. The Mountain Lions stayed consistent, shooting 50 percent (7-14) yet again in the fourth quarter. A 20-10 scoring run for Concord over the final three minutes of play sealed Coach Tesla Southcott's first victory over Bluefield State as head coach. Smith finished the game with 18 points on 7-9 shooting and added eight rebounds.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
CU split the season series last winter against Bluefield State 1-1. The Mountain Lions dropped the first meeting on the road 80-74 in Ned Shott Gymnasium but avenged the loss with a win in front of a home crowd in the Carter Center, 70-63. Playing in only her third career collegiate game, sophomore forward Abbie Smith scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her first double-double off of the bench when Concord traveled to Bluefield State. J. Smith posted 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the Mountain Lions' win in the Carter Center.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
11 - Number of lead changes when CU and BSU met in the Carter Center last season
42 - Percentage of Concord's points coming off of the bench through two games this season
50 - Mountain Lions points in the paint against the Big Blues last November
 
BLUEFIELD STATE AT A GLANCE
2023-23 Record: 12-14
Home Record: 11-4
Away Record: 0-9
Neutral Record: 1-1
 
SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
Bluefield State returns its top two scorers from last season in senior guard Aerihna Afoa and junior guard Azariah Binford. Among returners for BSU, Afoa led the team in points per game (10.7), field goal percentage (34.7), three-point percentage (32.8), and free throw percentage (91.1). Binford averaged 10.5 points per game and led the Big Blues with 3.4 assists per game. Junior forward Gabrielle Thomas returns as the primary defensive force for BSU this season. Thomas averaged 5.3 rebounds and finished tied for the team-lead with 0.4 blocks per game in 2022-23. Head Coach Paul Davis enters his third year at the helm for BSU and welcomes new assistant coach Alyssa Moore, who was a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina last winter.