Concord Gears Up for Home Game Against Notre Dame, Travels to UVa.-Wise

Concord Stats – Notre Dame Stats – UVa.-Wise Stats – Live Video – Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team plays host to Notre Dame in a Mountain East Conference matchup Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Carter Center before heading to play UVa.-Wise in a non-conference game Monday at 5:30 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's game. The UVa.-Wise Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Monday's contest.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Notre Dame: NDC leads 16-6
UVa.-Wise: Concord leads 11-8
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST NOTRE DAME
March 1, 2023: Concord 78 – Notre Dame 67 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
January 15, 2023: Concord 67 – Notre Dame 50 (South Euclid, Ohio)
December 3, 2022: Concord 77 – Notre Dame 64 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 3, 2022: Notre Dame 69 – Concord 59 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
January 26, 2022: Concord 56 – Notre Dame 50 (Athens, W.Va.)
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST UVA.-WISE
January 16, 2023: UVa.-Wise 71 – Concord 55 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 10, 2022: Concord 70 – UVa.-Wise 56 (Wise, Va.)
November 14, 2019: UVa.-Wise 87 – Concord 81 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 7, 2019: Concord 76 – UVa.-Wise 62 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
March 2, 2019: Concord 75 – UVa.-Wise 65 (Wise, Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 4-2
MEC Record: 2-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 2-1
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENT
Going into halftime against Salem Wednesday evening, CU found itself in a seven-point hole, 34-27. Sophomore forward Abbie Smith was able to covert on a pair of layups to cut the SU lead to five. Then, graduate guard Nakaila Gray found the net on back-to-back layups and hit a three-pointer as she ignited a 7-0 scoring run that gave the Mountain Lions their first lead since the first five minutes of the game. Concord would score 29 points in the quarter on 52.4 percent shooting to complete the comeback and defeat Salem 75-67. The 29 third-quarter points are the most in a quarter by the Mountain Lions since last season when they scored 33 points in the fourth quarter against Alderson Broaddus.
 
FEELIN' IT
Senior guard Jaisah Smith has turned her game up a notch over the last two contests against West Virginia State and Salem. In those games, Smith has scored a combined 37 points and shot 53.8 percent from the floor (14-for-26). She posted a 23-point performance against Lock Haven on November 11, but was only averaging 7.0 points in the other three games this season. Smith's 20 points, seven rebounds, and two steals in CU's upset win at 13^th ranked WVSU earned her MEC Player of the Week Honors. Her 13.5 points per game ranks second for the Mountain Lions and 11^th in the conference. She has amassed 867 career points and sits 133 points away from becoming the 21^st 1,000-point scorer in CU women's basketball history.
 
HELPING HAND
The Mountain Lions are averaging 11.5 assists per game this season, but had not recorded more than 12 in a game until the last Tuesday against West Virginia State. CU has posted 33 assists in their last two games played. Junior guard Skylar Davidson recorded a career-best eight assists against Salem to only two turnovers, and currently sits at fourth in the MEC in assists per game (3.6). Senior guard Maddie Ratcliff and J. Smith have both collected five assists each over the last two games to help fuel the Mountain Lions' offense in the midst of a four-game win streak. As a team, CU is is 3-1 when recording double-digit assists this season.
 
HIGH OCTANE
Notre Dame ranks second in the MEC in team field goal percentage (43.9 percent). Seven of the nine players who have played in all seven games for the Falcons this season are shooting above 40 percent. Four of those shooting 40 percent from the field or higher average three or more made shots per game. On the other hand, Concord ranks fourth in the MEC in opponent field goal percentage, holding its opponents to an average of 37.9 percent from the field. Additionally, CU's defensive pressure forces an average of 20.3 turnovers per game with over 10 turnovers coming from steals.
 
CLEAN SWEEP
Concord bested Notre Dame three times last winter, the first three-game season sweep since the Mountain Lions took three games from Urbana in the 2019-20 season. All three games were decided by 11 points or more. Also, A. Smith scored in double-digits in all three games and notched a double-double in two games. A. Smith recorded a career-high 18 rebounds inside Murphy Gymnasium last January. CU shot an average of 47.4 percent from the floor against the Falcons last season and had at least four players that scored in double-digits.
 
FAMILIAR FACE, DIFFERENT PLACE
UVa.-Wise head coach Jamie Cluesman is no stranger to the Maroon and Gray. She played for the Mountain Lions under former head coach Kenny Osborne from 2003-2008. Cluesman still stands as the all-time leader in assists (655) and steals (277) in program history. She was inducted to the Concord Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. After her playing career, she was an assistant under Osborne through the 2013-14 season. Cluesman accepted the head coaching position at UVa.-Wise prior the 2018-19 season. Since joining the Cavaliers, she was named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 2021. Monday will be Cluesman's seventh meeting against her alma mater as UVa.-Wise's head coach.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 – CU defeated NDC by double-digits in all three meetings last season.
25 – Number of points graduate guard Jazz Blankenship scored against UVa.-Wise in January 2022 in CU's 70-56 win
56 – Rebounding margin in favor of CU across three meetings between Concord and Notre Dame last season (136-80)
 
NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 1-6
MEC Record: 0-3
Home Record: 0-3
Away Record: 0-3
Neutral Record: 1-0
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Notre Dame is led by sophomore forward Noel Weathers, averaging 13.1 points per game and is fifth in the MEC averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. Weathers also cracks the MEC top five, swatting seven blocks in seven games this season. Junior guards Lilee Carlson (12.1 points per game) and Kennadi Harris (10.4 point per game) are NDC's next leading scorers, as well as the Falcons' top three-point threats as both are shooting over 42 percent from long range. Junior guard Karli Anker ranks fifth in the MEC boasting a 81.8 free throw percentage. Head Coach Lauren Macer returns to Notre Dame this season after spending two years as an assistant coach at Division I Purdue Fort-Wayne. Macer coached at NDC from 2017-21 before returning this winter.
 
UVA.-WISE AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 2-3
SAC Record: 0-1
Home Record: 0-2
Away Record: 2-0
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
UVa.-Wise dons three players scoring over 12 points per game. Fifth-year guard Caitlyn Ross leads the way averaging 13.4 points per game. Ross also leads the Cavaliers in rebounds per game (6.0) and assists per game (6.2). Junior guard/forward Katlin Burger and freshman guard Sarah Burton tie for second scoring 12.8 points per game. Defensively, junior guard/forward Kaitlin Bailey sits at fourth in the SAC picking up 1.6 blocks per game and junior guard Sable Burnside is tied for 11^th in the SAC swiping 2.0 steals per game.