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Wheeling Stats -
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ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team looks to continue its recent success, traveling to face Mountain East Conference opponent Wheeling Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the McDonough Center.
LIVE COVERAGE
The Wheeling University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's contest.
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
SERIES HISTORY
Wheeling leads 29-12
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WHEELING
February 8, 2023: Concord 75 – Wheeling 68 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 7, 2023: Wheeling 93 – Concord 52 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 9, 2022: Wheeling 77 – Concord 72 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
January 8, 2022: Concord 83 – Wheeling 66 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 4, 2021: Wheeling 77 – Concord 72 (OT) (WesBanco Arena, Wheeling, W.Va.)
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 8-6
MEC Record: 5-3
Home Record: 5-2
Away Record: 3-3
Neutral Record: 0-1
JOINING THE CLUB
Senior guard
Jaisah Smith amassed 1,000 career points in Wednesday's comeback win over West Liberty when she knocked down a pair of pivotal free throws late in the fourth quarter. Smith scored a career-high 29 points and made 13-of-14 free throws in the record-breaking win. She becomes the 21
st member of the 1,000-point club in program history. Also, Smith sits at 225 career steals and 155 career assists, a feat not too many Mountain Lions have achieved. With 25 assists, Smith will become the third player in program history to score 1,000 points, record 250 assists, and take away 150 steals behind Melissa Grose (1994-97) and Jolysa Brown (2008-2012). Smith is averaging 15.8 points per game this season, fifth in the MEC. Additionally, she has scored in double figures in all but two games this winter and has tallied three 20-point outings.
FULL COURT PRESSURE
After falling into a four-point hole at halftime in Wednesday's meeting with West Liberty, CU turned up the defensive intensity in the second half. The Mountain Lions forced 24 second half turnovers, as well as 12 steals to ignite a 58-point second half and complete the come-from-behind victory, 92-86. Head coach
Tesla Southcott's defense forced a season-high 38 turnovers in the game and finished with 20 steals, three away from tying the program record. Concord forced 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, as well as swiping 10 of the game's 20 steals in the frame. The 38 turnovers forced are the most since at least the 2011-12 season, with the next highest total of 33 coming in the 2015-16 season against Bluefield State.
GAME-CHANGING RUN
The impact of senior guard
Maddie Ratcliff in the second half of Wednesday's win over West Liberty changed the course of the game for CU. Ratcliff scored four points and came away with a steal in the first half. She knocked down a three-pointer midway through the third quarter to cut WLU's lead to two, 47-45. To begin the fourth quarter, she led her own 8-0 scoring run converting a traditional three-point play, getting to the rim and netting a layup, then knocking down a three-pointer off an inbound steal. After her self-run, CU saw its first lead of the game, 69-67, with 7:44 remaining in the game. Concord would close out the game with a win with Ratcliff finishing with 17 points, five steals, and two assists. It was Ratcliff's first game in double figures since November 29 at Salem.
PREMIER GUARD PLAY
CU's defense will have its hands full at the McDonough Center on Saturday, as Wheeling boasts one of the best 1-2 punches in the MEC. Shamia Strayhorn is the league's eighth-best scorer going for 13.8 points per game. The 2023 All-MEC Honorable Mention player also leads qualified Cardinals in field goal percentage (36.8 percent) and free throw percentage (70.8 percent). Kenzie Dalton controls the point, as she leads WU in assists per game (3.9) and steals per game (2.8). The tandem both also average over 29 minutes on the floor per game. The Cardinals will meet a similar duo in CU's leading scorer, Smith (15.8 points per game), and junior point guard sophomore
Skylar Davidson (4.7 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game). Davidson (second), Dalton (fourth) and Smith (sixth) make up half the top six in steals per game in the MEC.
RECENT TRENDS
Concord and Wheeling split the season series last winter, with the home team as the victor. In fact, the Mountain Lions and the Cardinals have split the regular season series since the 2019-20 season with the home team winning each matchup. During this period, the only outlier is the meeting between the schools in the 2021 MEC Quarterfinals where WU outlasted the Maroon and Gray in overtime, 77-72. Concord completed the late comeback against Wheeling in the Carter Center last season, using 33 fourth-quarter points to hold on for the win, 75-68. Of current Mountain Lions, Smith has the most career points against the Cardinals. Across six games played, she is averaging 11.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in four straight meetings. Sophomore forward
Abbie Smith had 11 points in last year's home win while Ratcliff came off the bench for 16 points.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5.6 – Blocks per game against Wheeling over the last eight games played for Concord.
13.2 – Steals per game this season by CU, top 15 in Division II
56 – CU's second-half margin outscoring opponents this season
WHEELING AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 11-4
MEC Record: 6-2
Home Record: 6-2
Away Record: 5-2
Neutral Record: 0-0
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Strayhorn (13.8) and junior guard Briarley Rogers (11.9) lead Wheeling in scoring. Rodgers also leads the team in three-point scoring, making 1.8 three-point field goals per game. The Cardinals started the season 8-0 before losing three straight games. An upset of then ninth-ranked Fairmont State got WU back into the win column and go into Saturday's game 11-4 on the season, 6-2 in MEC play.
