Concord Faces West Virginia State in MEC Semifinals

Concord Stats – West Virginia State Stats – Live Video – Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team takes on number 2 seeded West Virginia State in the Semifinal round of the Mountain East Conference Basketball Tournament Saturday at 3:00 p.m. inside WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Mountain East Conference will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's semifinal contest. The game will also be shown on MetroNews and televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Concord leads 27-21
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST VIRGINIA STATE
February 28, 2024: West Virginia State 72 – Concord 63 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 11, 2023: Concord 70 – West Virginia State 57 (Institute, W.Va.)
March 2, 2023: Concord 86 – West Virginia State 83 (OT) (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 22, 2023: Concord 82 – West Virginia State 71 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 22, 2022: West Virginia State 95 – Concord 70 (Institute, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 17-12
MEC Record: 11-9
Home Record: 9-4
Away Record: 7-7
Neutral Record: 1-1
 
VETERAN PRESENCE
Finding itself down 36-32 early in the fourth quarter, CU got some help from graduate guard Jazz Blankenship. Blankenship connected on a three-pointer at the 9:09 mark to cut the Frostburg State lead to just one. After a layup by junior guard Skylar Davidson to give Concord the lead, Blankenship picked away a steal on the ensuing inbound pass and made a layup to give CU a 39-36 advantage. Later in the quarter, Blankenship sunk another three-point basket at the 6:26 mark. After Blankenship's run, graduate forward Alexis Phillips added two three-pointers and senior guard Maddie Ratcliff added a three-pointer in the second half to fuel CU's upset over FSU, 84-69. The trio of Blankenship (136), Phillips (118) and Ratcliff (106) have combined to play in more than 360 career games.
 
TAKE IT AWAY
While Concord's upperclassmen contributed offensively, graduate guard Nakaila Gray helped out on the defensive end. Gray tallied six steals in the game, tied for her career-high and the third time she's notched six steals this season. Additionally, six steals tied her for the second most in an MEC Tournament game all-time. Gray was consistent with her defensive output, swiping three steals in the first half and three steals in the second half. With her six steals, she scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds, and racked up five assists. In her last four MEC Tournament games, Gray is averaging 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game. She is fourth in the conference with 2.7 steals per game.
 
POSTSEASON PROMINENCE
Sophomore forward Abbie Smith knows what it means to play in the MEC Tournament, scoring 30 points in Thursday's upset over Frostburg State. She tied her career-best in scoring by going 9-of-14 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Her other 30-point game came just two weeks ago in a road contest against West Liberty. Last season, Smith scored 29 points in a quarterfinal upset of West Virginia State, her previous career-high. Smith's 30 points is the most by a CU player in a postseason game since Jolysa Brown scored 34 points against Charleston in the WVIAC Tournament in 2012. In her last four games overall, the Little Hocking, Ohio native is averaging 23.2 points per game while shooting 69.3 percent from the floor. She's adding 10.2 rebounds per game in that same stretch, and has an MEC-leading 13 double-doubles this season.
 
UPSET-MINDED
Concord has knocked off a higher seed in the MEC Tournament in back-to-back seasons. As mentioned earlier, CU upset number two seeded West Virginia State in the Quarterfinals a season ago in overtime, 86-83. In that game, five different players scored in double figures for the Mountain Lions, including Gray who made a three-pointer as regulation expired to force overtime. Thursday, CU used four double-digit scorers to down the number three seed in Frostburg State, including Smith's 30-point nod. CU is the only team to have upset a higher seed in back-to-back years in MEC Tournament history.
 
HISTORY MADE
The Maroon and Gray have reached the semifinal round in back-to-back seasons: last year as the number seven seed and this year as the number six seed. Notre Dame in 2015 is the only other school to have reached the semifinals as a six seed or lower in MEC Tournament history. Concord has knocked off a higher seed in the MEC Tournament in back-to-back seasons. As mentioned earlier, CU upset number two seeded West Virginia State in the Quarterfinals a season ago in overtime, 86-83. In that game, five different players scored in double figures for the Mountain Lions, including Gray who made a three-pointer as regulation expired to force overtime. Thursday, CU used four double-digit scorers to down the number three seed in Frostburg State, including Smith's 30-point nod. CU is the only team to have upset a higher seed in back-to-back years in MEC Tournament history.
 
TOURNAMENT TIME
CU head coach Tesla Southcott picked up her third MEC Tournament win on Thursday. The second-year head coach won two games at the tournament last winter, defeating Notre Dame in the Opening Round before upsetting West Virginia State in the Quarterfinals. With the 84-69 upset of Frostburg State Thursday, Coach Southcott has the fourth most tournament wins among active coaches in the league in just two seasons. West Virginia State's Charles Marshall and Charleston's Tianni Kelly are tied for the lead with nine wins, followed by Notre Dame's Lauren Macer with six wins in the MEC Tournament.
 
READY FOR ROUND THREE
Saturday's game between Concord and West Virginia State will be the rubber match of the season between the teams with the road team winning during the regular season. CU knocked off then nationally-ranked 13th West Virginia State in late November, 70-57. West Virginia State defeated the Mountain Lions inside the Carter Center February 28, 72-63. Defensively, the Maroon and Gray held WVSU under 40 percent shooting in both games this season, including limiting the Yellow Jackets to 24.4 percent in November. Smith had 13 points and 11 rebounds at WVSU and added another double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds last week. Gray was CU's leading scorer in February with 15 points. Phillips added 11 rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7 – Number of blocks vs. Frostburg State, tied for the season-high
17 – Number of wins this season, tied for the sixth-most in program history
42.5 - Rebounds per game over CU's last four games
 
WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
2023-24 Record: 20-9
MEC Record:  14-6
Home Record: 9-4
Away Record: 9-5
Neutral Record:  2-0
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
WVSU defeated Notre Dame 77-64 in the Quarterfinal round Thursday for its seventh straight win overall. Graduate guard Shelby Harmeyer was voted to the All-MEC First Team, while graduate forward Destiny Fields and graduate forward Anysa Jordan were All-MEC Second Team Selections. ZZ Russell came off the bench with 16 points while Harmeyer and Emyah Fortenberry both had 15 points. The Yellow Jackets forced 27 NDC turnovers.