Concord Holds Off West Liberty to Extend Win Streak, 68-65

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team got a crucial stop with under 30 seconds remaining to secure its fourth-straight victory, 68-65, against Mountain East Conference foe West Liberty Wednesday evening inside the ASRC.
 
Finding itself in a four-point hole midway through the fourth quarter, CU (8-7, 5-3 MEC) kickstarted a 10-0 run to regain control of the game and take a lead it would not give back.
 
Senior guard Skylar Davidson knocked down a pair of free throws to start the spurt as Concord trailed by one, 57-56, at the 4:14 mark. Then, back-to-back layups off turnovers from junior guard Kennedy Scales and junior forward Imani Hickman saw the Mountain Lions jump in front 60-57.

The Maroon and Gray forced two more WLU (5-10, 3-5 MEC) stops as Davidson and junior forward Abbie Smith added the final touches of the run to lead by seven, 64-57, with 2:34 remaining.

Leading 67-65, Davidson picked off a Hilltoppers' inbound pass with 27 seconds on the clock and made one-of-two free throws to clinch the three-point road victory. WLU was forced into a deep three-point try with three seconds remaining that was off the mark.

West Liberty got out to a fast start, taking a 10-4 lead before CU came back to tie the score heading into the second, 10-10.

Hickman scored six of CU's first 10 points in the second quarter as Concord took a 20-15 edge.. The Hilltoppers got within two before the Mountain Lions scored six straight points to lead by eight. Morris, sophomore forward Saniya Hymes, and sophomore guard Alexis Frazee added buckets as Concord held the advantage 29-24 heading into halftime.

WLU began the third quarter on an 8-2 run, but the Mountain Lions responded with a small spurt to grab a 37-34 advantage. The contest remained within one possession for the final six minutes of the quarter as Davidson's jumper with 26 seconds left gave CU a 48-47 lead going to the fourth.

WLU controlled the early portion of the fourth quarter, but was only able to build the three-point advantage before the Mountain Lions' final charge. 

Davidson set a new career-high with 28 points on 11 made baskets. Smith clinched her fourth-straight double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 boards. Hickman rounded out double-figuring scoring knocking down five field goals for 10 points to go  along with eight rebounds. As a team, Concord outrebounded West liberty 64-44 and held the Hilltoppers to a season-low 32.9 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.

The Mountain Lions return home to face Wheeling inside the Carter Center Saturday at 2:00 p.m.