Concord Opens MEC Schedule with Road Trip to Charleston

Concord Stats – Charleston Stats – Live Video – Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va.  – The Concord University women's basketball team heads to Charleston for its first Mountain East Conference matchup of the season at the Wehrle Innovation Center Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The University of Charleston Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's contest.
 
LIVE STATS
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
SERIES HISTORY
UC leads 45-17
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST CHARLESTON
January 21, 2024: Concord 70 – Charleston 58 (Charleston, W.Va.)
November 18, 2023: Concord 54 – Charleston 44 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 4, 2023: Charleston 78 – Concord 54 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
January 18, 2023: Charleston 80 – Concord 68 (Charleston, W.Va.)
November 19, 2022: Charleston 72 – Concord 57 (Athens, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 2-2
MEC Record: 0-0
Home Record: 1-0
Away Record: 1-1
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
HOLDING STRONG
The Mountain Lions picked up their first road win of the season over Mercer County rival Bluefield State, 85-72, Wednesday after leading the entire game. Five Concord three-point baskets in the opening period built a nine-point lead and Concord never looked back. Four of the eight three-point baskets in the game came from junior forward Imani Hickman and sophomore guard Madison Young. BSU was able to come within three early in the fourth quarter, but CU answered back with a 15-3 scoring run that put the game out of reach. Concord shot a season-best 46.3 percent from the floor and a season-high 31 made field goals to secure the win.
 
GET OUT IN FRONT
Over its last two games, CU has been able to build a comfortable lead in the first half, picking up back-to-back victories. In their first two games, the Mountain Lions were outscored by a total of 30 points before outpacing the opponent a combined 81-64 in the opening 20 minutes of play. Concord jumped out to a 41-32 advantage and won in overtime against UVa.-Wise and led Bluefield State 40-32 at the break en route to a 15-point final margin.
 
KEPT IT ROLLING
Sophomore forward Abbie Smith posted another dominating performance against Bluefield State, scoring three points shy of her career-high of 27 points. Smith also pulled down 15 rebounds for her team-best third double-double in four games played. The reigning MEC Player of the Week connected on 11 of her 18 attempted shots (61.1 percent) and hauled in eight offensive rebounds at Bluefield State to rank second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3.5). Smith also set a new career-high with four steals on the defensive end along with three assists and five free throws.
 
STIFLING THE OPPONENT
In their double digit win over Bluefield State, the Maroon and Gray outshot the Big Blues 46.3 percent to 44.8 percent. On the season, CU ranks fifth in the MEC in opponent field goal percentage, holding the opposition to 41.0 percent from the floor. Last season, Concord held Charleston to 30.2 percent and 30.3 percent shooting to claim a pair of victories over the Golden Eagles. UC heads into the matchup ranked sixth in the league, hitting 38.3 of its attempted shots but is making 34.5 percent from beyond the three-point line (third in the MEC).
 
COMPLETED THE SWEEP
Concord swept the season series over Charleston for the first time since the 2011-12 season that included a pair of regular season wins and an MEC Tournament victory. In the Carter Center, the Mountain Lions held the Golden Eagles to 20 first-half points as part of a 54-44 final. CU claimed the rebounding battle 44-27 and forced 20 UC turnovers. Smith (16) and Davidson (14) scored in double figures and as a team, CU made 12 of its 13 attempted free throws (92.3 percent). At the Wehrle Center, Concord built a 35-23 lead at halftime and scored 23 points off turnovers to down the Golden Eagles 70-58.
 
NEW COACH IN TOWN
Charleston welcomes new head coach Bubby Johnson for his first year on the sidelines in charge of the Golden Eagles after spending two seasons as the assistant coach at Division 1 Presbyterian College. Under his guidance, Johnson led PC to its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history while picking up a program record 21 wins and the first winning record since 2020-21. UC won its first two games this season at the MEC-PSAC Challenge, becoming one of only two schools from the MEC to down back-to-back regional opponents to start the season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7.5 – Three-pointer made per game for CU this season
+11 – Combined rebounding margin over UC last season who finished with a +3.5-rebounding margin per game
18.4 – Charleston's three-point percentage against Concord last season
 
CHARLESTON AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 2-3
MEC Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-2
Away Record: 0-1
Neutral Record: 0-0
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Sophomore guard Paris Stokes leads UC in scoring (10.8 points per game) and is shooting 87.1 percent from the free throw line this season, good for fourth in the MEC. Charleston opened its season with a pair of wins over regional foes Shepherd and West Chester before dropping its last three contests leading up to Saturday. The Golden Eagles are only averaging 4.4 steals per game but only allow 70.6 points per game (fifth in the MEC).