CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team took down Charleston 70-58 in a Mountain East Conference matchup held at the Wehrle Center Wednesday evening.
The Mountain Lions led for more than 35 minutes after an early back-and-forth. A 5-0 scoring run capped by a three-pointer from graduate forward
Alexis Phillips saw Concord jump ahead 14-9 with 2:34 left in the first quarter. Sophomore
Abbie Smith scored six points in the opening frame as the Maroon and Gray took a 16-12 edge into the second quarter.
Junior guard/forward
Deja Atkinson drained a three-point basket on the opening possession of the second quarter, extending the lead to 19-12. Following Atkinson's three, UC closed Concord's lead to just three points, 20-17, with 8:09 left in the quarter.
Then, the Mountain Lions rattled off a 9-0 scoring run with two-point baskets coming from Davidson, Smith, graduate guard
Nakaila Gray, and a three-point play from senior guard
Jaisah Smith to take a 29-17 lead with 5:48 left before halftime. Senior guard
Maddie Ratcliff scored on a layup with 2:07 left to open up a 15-point advantage 35-20 before CU settled for a 35-23 halftime lead.
Concord's second-half momentum wasn't halted at the break, however, as A. Smith and J. Smith scored in the paint to go up by 16, 41-25, with just over a minute played in the third quarter. CU used five different scorers in the quarter to keep its margin. Meanwhile, freshman guard
Ana Young drained a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the quarter, taking a 54-38 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
With 4:44 left in the game, Ratcliff scored again in the paint to give the Mountain Lions their biggest lead of the game, 64-43. J. Smith scored four more points in the final three minutes to hold off the Golden Eagles, 70-58.
From the field, CU shot a season-high 47.5 percent (28-for-59), as well as a season-high from three-point range (50 percent, 7-for-14). The seven threes hit by the Mountain Lions is tied for the second-most this season. J. Smith (15 points) and A. Smith (14 points) led Concord in scoring. Gray finished with seven points and a team-high four steals. Blankenship and Young sunk two three-pointers each.
The Mountain Lions return to the Carter Center for the first game of a two-game MEC homestand against Glenville State Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
