Concord Falls Late to Frostburg State

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team's rally came up short versus Frostburg State 74-73 in a Mountain East Conference matchup Wednesday evening inside the Carter Center.
 
The Mountain Lions (4-5, 2-2 MEC) trailed the Bobcats (5-3, 4-1 MEC) 70-62 with 4:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. A midrange jump shot from senior guard Jaisah Smith and a layup from sophomore forward Abbie Smith cut CU's deficit to five, 71-64. Graduate guard Nakaila Gray connected on a three-point shot to bring Concord within one possession, 71-69.
 
Then, with 1:12 remaining in the game, junior guard Skylar Davidson came away with a steal that led to a layup on the other end of the floor by J. Smith to tie the game 71-71.
 
After FSU went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, Davidson hit a layup to give CU the lead for the first time since 1:25 in the second quarter, 72-71. The Bobcats answered with a layup. Concord had three possessions in the final 40 seconds, but was unable to get a potential game-winning shot to fall as Frostburg State hung on for the win.
 
The Mountain Lions grabbed an early lead by connecting on five of their first seven shots for a 12-4 advantage over the Bobcats through the first five minutes of play. CU finished the quarter with a 19-15 lead and shot 57.1 percent from the floor.
 
After a late second quarter run by FSU, senior guard Maddie Ratcliff and freshman guard Ana Young both converted layups to tie the score, 37-37, going into halftime.
 
Concord trailed by as much as 12 points in the third quarter, but a 14-5 scoring run over the last four minutes of the frame clipped the deficit to 60-57 heading into the final 10 minutes. Over the run, the Mountain Lions turned up the defensive pressure as they grabbed four steals and held the Bobcats to just two shot attempts. Gray led the spurt with seven points including a three-pointer and a pair of free throws.
 
Gray led all players with 18 points in the game shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 3-for-4 from three-point range, and 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. She also recorded a new career-high of six steals. As a team, Concord swiped 17 steals, bringing its steal total to 35 over the past two games played. Jaisah Smith (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Abbie Smith (14 points, 10 rebounds) were the only other Mountain Lions in double figures and both recorded double-doubles. Davidson finished the game with eight points, five steals, and four assists.
 
CU hosts Emory & Henry for its final game of the month on December 15 starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Carter Center.