Concord Welcomes Wheeling for MEC Home Contest

Concord Stats – Wheeling Stats – Live Video – Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team puts its four-game winning streak on the line when Mountain East Conference foe Wheeling enters the Carter Center Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's game.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wheeling leads 30-13
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WHEELING
February 21, 2024: Concord 74 – Wheeling 71 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 20, 2024: Wheeling 73 – Wheeling 64 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 8, 2023: Concord 75 – Wheeling 68 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 7, 2023: Wheeling 93 – Concord 52 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 9, 2022: Wheeling 77 – Concord 72 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 8-7
MEC Record: 5-3
Home Record 3-2
Away Record: 5-3
Neutral Record: 0-2
 
MAKE IT FOUR
After trailing by four points midway through the fourth quarter Wednesday at West Liberty, CU made a late charge to pick up its fourth-straight victory, 68-65. Juniors Kennedy Scales and Imani Hickman combined for four points off turnovers before junior forward Abbie Smith added the finishing touch to the run with 2:34 left to play. Then, with a two-point lead, senior guard Skylar Davidson picked off a Hilltoppers' inbound pass and drew contact to shoot free throws. After going 1-for-2 at the line, the Mountain Lions anchored down the final 27 seconds to secure the win. The CU defense held WLU to a season-low 32.9 percent shooting and 25 percent from three-point range.
 
DAVIDSON DOES IT AGAIN
In the win against West Liberty, Davidson notched a new career-high in the scoring column, netting 28 points. Her previous career-best scoring effort came against West Liberty last winter when she tallied 25 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in another road effort against the Hilltoppers. In three games at Concord against West Liberty, Davidson is averaging 19.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. Over her last six games, the Mullens, W.Va. native has finished with a field goal percentage north of 40 percent and was 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) against WLU. Additionally, Davidson leads the MEC in both steals per game (3.6) and assists per game (4.9).
 
BACK-AND-FORTH
Over the last three seasons, Concord and Wheeling have split the regular season series with the home team emerging victorious in all six meetings. After dropping the first game last season at Wheeling, 73-64, CU bounced back to even the season series in February by orchestrating a fourth-quarter comeback for a 74-71 win in the Carter Center. Smith scored 23 points and grabbed 14 boards while five different players scored in double figures in the home victory. In both games, the Maroon and Gray won the rebounding battle and poked free at least 10 steals against the Cardinals.
 
FLOOR GAME
Although Davidson leads the league in assists and steals, Wheeling junior guard Kenzie Dalton is also one of the league's top producing guards. Dalton ranks fourth in the MEC in both assists per game (4.3) and steals per game (2.7) while scoring 7.5 points per game on 44.4 percent from the field. In two of her last three games, Dalton has recorded at least six rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Against Wheeling in the Carter Center last February, Davidson scored 10 points while also dishing out five assists, grabbing four rebounds, and tallying three steals. In the McDonough Center against CU last January, Dalton finished with five points, six rebounds, five steals, and five assists.
 
IN THE PAINT
While Davidson and Dalton battle at the top of the key, Smith and WU junior forward Rachel Wilson will duel at the basket Saturday. Wilson has logged double-doubles in back-to-back games as she went for 22 points and 16 rebounds against Frostburg State and followed up with a 20-point, 18-rebound night versus Glenville State. In 2023-24, Wilson was held to an average of 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds across two meetings while Smith averaged 13.5 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game on 47.3 percent shooting. Both Smith (first, 11.5) and Wilson (fourth, 9.5) rank inside the top five in the MEC in rebounds per game and both showcase a field goal percentage north of 45 percent.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 – Double-doubles for Smith this season, tied for second in Division II
+11 – CU's scoring margin over Wheeling in the fourth quarter last season
19 – Total blocks in two games between the Mountain Lions and Cardinals in 2023-24
 
WHEELING AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 7-8
MEC Record: 4-4
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 3-6
Neutral Record: 0-0
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Wheeling travels to Athens having dropped four of its last five games to MEC opponents, but picking up a 15-point win against Frostburg State last Saturday. Alongside Wilson and Dalton, WU presents two freshmaen guards scoring in double figures in Kristel Rattasepp (10.5) and Emilia Sierra Lacosta (10.0). Defensively, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 67.2 points per game, the third-lowest in the MEC.