WHEELING, W.Va. – For a second straight year, the Concord University women's basketball team sprung a MEC Tournament Quarterfinal upset as it defeated Frostburg State, 84-69, Thursday afternoon inside WesBanco Arena.
Trailing by two points at halftime, 34-32, the Mountain Lions (17-12) started the third quarter on a 7-2 run with senior guard
Jazz Blankenship and junior guard
Skylar Davidson combined for all seven points. Back-to-back buckets by Frostburg State (18-11) trimmed the margin back to 41-40 in favor of Concord.
A three-pointer by Blankenship jumpstarted another lengthy scoring run as the Mountain Lions outscored FSU 12-2 over the next three minutes capped by a triple from senior guard
Maddie Ratcliff at the 3:15 mark. The nine-point lead that Concord held, 53-44, was maintained through three quarters, 60-51.
The Mountain Lions held Frostburg State to three points over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as the lead swelled to 18 points, 72-54, after a three-point play by sophomore forward
Abbie Smith.
The closest FSU got down the stretch was 12 points, 72-60, but a three-pointer from graduate forward
Alexis Phillips squashed the FSU momentum as Concord went on to by win 15 points.
The first half featured eight lead changes and five ties.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first 10 minutes of the contest as Frostburg State took a 17-13 edge to the second quarter.
Concord held a brief 26-23 edge after a three-pointer from graduate guard
Nakaila Gray with 5:11 left in the second quarter, but Frostburg State held the four-point advantage at the break.
Concord forced 19 turnovers with nine coming in the third quarter alone that turned into 15 of the 28 points scored by the Mountain Lions in the period.
Smith tied her career high with 30 points to go along with nine rebounds. She was 9-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 12-for-12 at the foul line.
Blankenship and Davidson both tallied 12 points. Phillips was close to a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Junior guard/forward
Deja Atkinson and Gray both added eight points.
The eight three-pointers made by the Mountain Lions were one shy of their season-high.
Concord shot 46.3 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range. Defensively, FSU was limited to 34.2 percent overall and 5-for-19 from beyond the arc.
CU takes on West Virginia State in the MEC Tournament Semifinals 3:00 p.m. Saturday at WesBanco Arena.
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