Concord Erases Halftime Deficit to Down Lock Haven, 77-68

ATHENS, W.Va.- The Concord University women's basketball team picked up their first win of the season with a 77-68 victory over Lock Haven to wrap up the MEC-PSAC Challenge Saturday afternoon at the Carter Center.
 
After entering halftime with a seven-point deficit, Concord (1-1) outscored Lock Haven (0-2) by 16 in the second half to flip the script and secure a win at home.
 
Down 35-28 to start the third quarter, the Mountain Lions dropped in 23 points, including 12 from three-point range in the third. CU chipped away at the deficit, and tied the game at 39-39 on a jumper from senior forward Abbie Smith at the 5:31 mark.
 
Concord continued to battle and took a 46-45 edge with less than two minutes left in the third period as freshman guard Lacee Smith canned a three-pointer. LHU grabbed a 47-46 lead on the next possession, but senior guard Kennedy Scales drilled a triple to push Concord ahead by two, and A. Smith finished off a stellar third quarter with a bucket.
 
Scales continued her hot shooting as she broke a 51-51 tie early in the fourth with another three-pointer. The Mountain Lions never gave the lead back over the final 9:21 of the contest.
 
Concord and Lock Haven traded buckets to start the game, but a three-pointer each from freshmen guards Cadence Blackburn and Nasiya Smith nudged CU out to a 14-7 lead with 5:14 left in the opening quarter.
 
LHU cut into the lead, but another Blackburn triple extended it once more. After the hot start, CU watched Lock Haven the tie the game at 17-17 after one quarter. Despite making just one field goal in the second quarter, the Mountain Lions went 9-of-10 in the period from the foul line to trail by seven points at the break.
 
One of the big reasons the Mountain Lions closed out Lock Haven was the foul line. CU went 29-for-38 (76.3 percent) from the charity stripe, compared to Lock Haven's 26-for-41 (63.4 percent). The Maroon and Gray also made eight three-pointers while holding LHU to two triples. Concord was 11-for-16 at the free-throw stripe in the final 2:07 of the contest.
 
Abbie Smith led Concord with 21 points and 10 rebounds to collect her second straight double-double. Junior forward Olivia Ziolkowski finished with 12 points and Scales was the other scorer in double figures with 11. Junior guard Kiley Smich finished with four points but her impact was felt everywhere, corralling five rebounds, handing out four assists, coming up with four steals and not committing a turnover. The freshmen trio of Blackburn, L. Smith and N. Smith combined for 20 points.
 
The game saw 14 ties and 12 lead changes.
 
Concord stays at home to face Mercer County rival Bluefield State Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Carter Center.