Concord Rallies Late for 90-83 Win at Davis & Elkins

ELKINS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team scored 50 second half points and used a season-high 29 free throws to defeat Davis & Elkins 90-83 in a Mountain East Conference contest held at the McDonnell Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Finding itself down 76-73 with 3:18 remaining in the game, CU (14-10, 9-7 MEC) sparked a 10-0 scoring spurt to take charge of the game.
 
The run was started when graduate forward Alexis Phillips connected on a straightaway three-pointer to knot the game 76-76. Then, on the next possession, freshman guard Ana Young buried another three-pointer to give Concord its first lead of the quarter, 79-76, with 2:43 left.
 
A pair of free throws from graduate guard Nakaila Gray and a layup from sophomore forward Abbie Smith capped off the run, giving the Mountain Lions an 83-76 edge over the Senators (2-20, 1-15 MEC) with 47 seconds left. In the closing seconds of the game, Young, Phillips, and junior guard Skylar Davidson added free throws to secure a 90-83 CU victory.
 
Concord shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) in the fourth quarter and knocked down three three-pointers while holding D&E to just 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from the floor. The Mountain Lions outscored Davis & Elkins 28-18 in the final 10 minutes of action.
 
After falling behind by as much as nine points in the first quarter, Concord took the lead, 31-30, on a pair of free throws from Davidson. Young sunk a jumper from the free throw line at the buzzer to trim the Davis & Elkins lead to just three at halftime, 43-40.
 
Gray and Young scored the first nine CU points out of the break to tie the game 49-49 with 6:31 left in the third quarter. Then, graduate guard Jazz Blankenship made three free throws to retake the lead, 54-53. D&E had the upper hand in the final two minutes of the quarter, sporting a 65-62 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Phillips scored a career-high 21 points in the contest, as well as notching a double-double with 11 rebounds. Also, she was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.
 
Young scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including two three-point buckets. Gray (14), Smith (14), and Blankenship (10) scored in double figures as well, marking the fourth time this season CU has had five players score double-digit points.
 
Concord made a season-high 29 free throws in the game. Phillips (10-10) and Gray (6-6) did not miss from the charity stripe. Davidson, Blankenship, Young, and junior guard/forward Deja Atkinson also added multiple free throws.
 
The Mountain Lions return home to face Wheeling in the Carter Center Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.