Concord Uses Big First Half to Defeat Charleston, 85-78

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team led wire-to-wire, taking down Mountain East Conference foe Charleston in the first Mountain East Conference game of the season Saturday evening inside the Wehrle Innovation Center.
 
For a second straight game, CU (3-2, 1-0 MEC) led from start to finish despite a fourth quarter comeback from the Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-1 MEC).
 
Senior guard Sanaiya Morris wasted no time, burying a three-pointer on the game's first possession to give Concord the lead. Senior guard Skylar Davidson and junior forward Abbie Smith followed with layups to extend the edge, 10-2, at the 8:08 mark.
 
The Mountain Lions weren't done, as Morris and junior forward Imani Hickman connected on two more three-pointers to grab an 18-2 lead with 6:28 remaining in the quarter. The Maroon and Gray made five three-point baskets in the opening 10 minutes of action to carry an 11-point advantage (30-19) into the second quarter.
 
Hickman was active in the early goings of the second frame, converting an and-one play and marking her fourth three-pointer of the game to extend the margin to 36-22 with just over one minute played.
 
The Mountain Lions continued to build the lead in the second quarter as it held Charleston to less than 20 percent shooting in the period, helping to raise the lead to 20 points, 48-28, at halftime.
 
Concord held its 20-point margin to start the third quarter and used a pair of layups off turnovers to build the largest lead of the game, 64-42, at the 4:57 mark. Davisdon capped off the frame with a midrange jumper to carry a 66-50 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
But, UC steadily chipped way at the Concord margin and eventually got within 82-78 with just over a minute to play in the game. The Mountain Lions got the necessary stops down the stretch to win by seven.
 
Smith notched back-to-back 20-point performances, scoring 25 points on 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the floor and making all five free throws she attempted. Hickman recorded a new career-high 21 points, knocking down four three-pointers. Davidson rounded out the double-digit scorers for CU, scoring 16 points along with a new career-best seven steals. Defensively, the Mountain Lions forced 32 UC turnovers on 20 steals, the most since a 92-86 victory over West Liberty last winter. Additionally, Concord scored 48 points in the paint and scored 36 points off turnovers.
The Mountain Lions welcome West Virginia State to the Carter Center 2:00 p.m. Tuesday.