Concord Edged by Seton Hill

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team lost 91-87 to Seton Hill on the first day of the MEC-PSAC Challenge Friday afternoon inside the Carter Center.

Despite being down by as much as 10 points in the closing stages of the third quarter, the Mountain Lions (0-1) took a late fourth-quarter lead, but was unable to hang on.

Trailing 72-65 after 30 minutes of play, Concord could not make a run on SHU (1-0) until the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Still trailing by seven, 82-75, at the 5:12 mark, the Mountain Lions leveled the game at 85-85 on a jumper from sophomore guard Kenyah Stubbs with 2:31 left. After a turnover, Stubbs gave Concord an 87-85 advantage 13 seconds later.

Seton Hill stymied CU over the next minute and made three free throws to go up 88-87 with 1:18 remaining. The Mountain Lions remained within one possession until the final seconds, but was held scoreless after Stubbs' transition layup at the 2:18 mark.

Concord trailed 43-30 at halftime, but came out of the locker room with a flurry. Junior forward Olivia Ziolkowski capped a 13-2 run at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter, giving the Mountain Lions their largest lead, 53-47.

However, Seton Hill scored 16 straight points to quell Concord's run.

The first 20 minutes was a see-saw affair with neither team leading by more than five points. The opening half featured 13 lead changes and nine ties.

Concord shot 50 percent or better in the final three quarters, shooting 53.1 percent (34-for-64) for the game. CU held a small 46-44 edge on the boards, but was unable to overcome 28 turnovers.

Senior forward Abbie Smith scored 20 of her 29 points after halftime as she added a game-best 14 rebounds. Sutbbs threw in 26 points in her Concord debut. Ziolkowski netted 12 points with half coming from the three-point line.

Junior guard Kennedy Scales filled up the box score with five points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman Cadence Blackburn had a game-best six assists.

The game was highlighted by 19 total lead changes and 11 ties.

The Mountain Lions face off with Lock Haven 2:00 p.m. Saturday to close the MEC-PSAC Challenge.