Concord Wraps Up 2024 Slate by Hosting Fairmont State

Concord Stats - Fairmont State Stats - Live Video - Live Stats - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team plays the final game of its first semester schedule when Fairmont State visits the Carter Center for a Mountain East Conference contest Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Sunday's matchup.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Fairmont State leads 26-17
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST FAIRMONT STATE
January 31, 2024: Concord 84 – #19 Fairmont State 66 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 5, 2024: #12 Fairmont State 70 – Concord 63 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
February 4, 2023: Fairmont State 87 – Concord 71 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
December 6, 2022: Fairmont State 78 – Concord 69 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 5, 2022: Concord 89 – Fairmont State 81 (Fairmont, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 4-7
MEC Record: 1-3
Home Record: 1-2
Away Record: 3-4
Neutral Record: 0-2
 
NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT
Trailing by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter against Frostburg State Wednesday, CU went on a late run that ultimately came up short. With the margin at 16, 63-47, at the 9:09 mark, senior guard Sanaiya Morris scored back-to-back layups to come within 12 with 6:25 on the clock. Then, graduate forward Trina Lewis tipped in a missed shot to make it a 6-0 run, 63-53. Morris brought the deficit within single digits when she connected on a three-pointer at the 5:16 mark. With just under five minutes left, Lewis hit a mid-range jumper as the Mountain Lions were down by just two possessions. However, Frostburg State closed out the game, 74-64.
 
FINDING A RHYTHM
Wednesday's game against Frostburg State saw the same four Concord players score in double figures in back-to-back outings. Morris scored a career-high 29 points against Salem and added eight points in the fourth quarter for 11 points in the game at FSU, and has scored at least 10 points in five straight games. Junior forward Abbie Smith led the scoring attack at FSU with 15 points and netted 11 against Salem. Skylar Davidson stayed consistent, dropping 13 against Salem and 12 at Frostburg State while leading CU in assists and steals in both contests. Finally, Lewis scored 10 points in both games and raised her season average to 5.8 points per game after recording double figures in four of her last six games.
 
SIGNATURE WIN
Fairmont State entered the Carter Center ranked 19^th in Division II last winter before the Mountain Lions controlled an 18-point upset, 84-66. Smith scored a game-high 26 points and snagged 10 rebounds as CU owned the glass, 50-39, over the Fighting Falcons. Concord gained the lead, 7-6, at the 2:27 mark of the first quarter and never looked back the rest of the way. Jaisah Smith and Deja Atkinson also contributed offensively by scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively. Davidson scored four points and dished out seven assists while Maddie Ratcliff showed out defensively with five steals. CU's 18 forced turnovers and 13 steals that led to 20 points off turnovers in the home upset win.
 
LOCK IT DOWN
This season, Fairmont State ranks first in the MEC in opponent field-goal percentage only allowing teams to shoot 38.8 percent from the field. Additionally, the Fighting Falcons own the league's second-best scoring defense giving up 64.6 points per game. FSU has held MEC opponents under 40 percent from the field in all but one of its conference games this fall and has held the opposition under 60 points in four out of 10 games played. After beginning the year being outrebounded by 27 boards in the first four games of the season, the Fighting Falcons are +16 on the glass over their last four games and have grabbed double-digit offensive rebounds in those four games.
 
ACCESS DENIED
Graduate forward Jalen Gibbs is the anchor of the Fairmont State defense, leading the conference in blocks, swatting 2.6 per game. Her 26 total blocks in 2024-25 is more than seven MEC teams this winter and ranks eighth in Division II. Against West Virginia Wesleyan, Gibbs tallied six blocks and had five blocks against California (Pa.). In 10 games played, she has logged at least two blocks in all but one game. CU has totaled 18 blocks in 11 games led by junior forward Imani Hickman, Morris, and Smith who all average 0.3 blocks per game.
 
FINISH STRONG
Sunday's meeting with Fairmont State marks the end of the first semester of the season and the final game of 2024. Since 2017-18, Concord has won all but one game to end the first semester of the school year. In 2023, CU picked up a 91-72 non-conference victory over Emory & Henry on December 15. In 2022, Concord outlasted Frostburg State in Bobcat Arena in overtime and recorded double-digit win over Salem in 2019. The lone loss came when the Maroon and Gray traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii in 2021 and split a pair of games to round out the first half of the 21-22 campaign.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 – Total number of lead changes between Concord and Fairmont State in two games last season
7 – Games since CU has won back-to-back meetings over FSU
53 – Fastbreak points for the Mountain Lions in the last four games
 
FAIRMONT STATE AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 8-2
MEC Record: 4-1
Home Record: 5-0
Away Record: 3-1
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING FALCONS
Fairmont State owns two of the MEC's top 10 scorers in junior guard Leslie Huffman (17.8) and graduate guard Alyssa DeAngelo (15.7). Gibbs also contributes 14.3 points per game while being the center of the defense for FSU and is shooting a league-best 57.9 percent from the floor. After dropping their first conference game of the season, the Fighting Falcons have won four-straight MEC games to be tied for second in the conference standings.