Concord Squares Off Against Winston-Salem State at Home in Last Game Before Thanksgiving

OPENING TIP
The Concord University women's basketball team returns to the Carter Center, fresh off a 91-78 win over UVa.-Wise Saturday afternoon on the road, as CU hosts Winston-Salem State in a non-conference contest 2:00 p.m. Tuesday.

STAY HOT
With the win at UVa.-Wise, it moved the Mountain Lions to 3-1 on the season which is just third 3-1 start in the last eight years. In 2018-19, Concord started 4-1, and did one better in 2021-22 by winning five of the first six games of the year. The impressive four-game stretch has been paced by a high-octane offense with CU averaging 83.5 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field, both top two in the Mountain East Conference. CU is also shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range which is number one in the conference. Last year's team finished the year shooting less than 30 percent from three-point distance. Senior forward Abbie Smith leads the MEC in field-goal percentage (.600). Senior guard Kennedy Scales has been an efficient 12-of-24 from the floor to start the year.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
In Concord's 13-point win at UVa.-Wise, the scoring was spearheaded by the inside presence of Smith and senior forward Olivia Ziolkowski. Ziolkowski had her first 20-point game in the Maroon and Gray by netting 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting. She canned four of her five three-point attempts. Smith continued her steady play with her fourth straight double-double to start the year of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Smith connected on her first career three-pointer in the contest. Smith is third in the MEC in scoring (23 points per game) and third in rebounding (11 per game) while Ziolkowski is 22nd in the league in scoring at 12.3 points per game as CU's third-leading scorer—sophomore guard Kenyah Stubbs is averaging 16.5 points per game. Ziolkowski's 20-point performance is already Concord's seventh of the season—Smith has 20 or more points in all four games, and Stubbs has 20-plus points in two games.

SHARING IS CARING
Part of the Mountain Lions' offensive efficiency can be pointed back to the fact the Mountain Lions are averaging 15.5 assists per game which is tops in the MEC. CU has assisted on more than half of their made field goals through four games (62 of 120 made field goals). Junior guard Kiley Smich leads Concord with 3.3 assists per game, seventh in the conference. Freshman guard Cadence Blackburn has 12 assists, an average of 3.0 per game, and the Kopperston, West Virginia native is nearly 2-to-1 in assist-turnover with 12 assists to just seven turnovers. The Mountain Lions dished out 23 assists at UVa.-Wise Saturday afternoon—it was Concord's third 20-assist game since the start of last season after the Mountain Lions had two games or 20 or more assists in 2024-25.

STAT-SHEET STUFFER
Smich scored in double figures for the first time this season with 11 points at UVa.-Wise. And even though Smich hasn't made a big scoring impression with just 22 points through four games, the Denver, Colorado native is making an impact in other ways on the floor. She is Concord's third-leading rebounder with 4.3 per game, the assist leader and second on the team in steals (2.8 per game). Smich already has three games with five or more rebounds this year from her two guard spot. She threw in five steals at UVa.-Wise which is the most for any CU player this season, and has seven assists over her last two games. In wins over Lock Haven and UVa.-Wise, Smich has recorded eight assists with just one turnover.

MEET THE PRESS
The Mountain Lions face a stifling Winston-Salem State press Wednesday as the Rams average more than 20 steals per game (20.7) and force 31 turnovers per contest. Against Division I North Carolina A&T in the season opener, the Rams came away with 24 steals and have added 19 steals in each game versus Converse and USC-Aiken since. Nevaeh Farmer, Jakaiya Mack and Makayla Waleed all have 10 steals through three games. Wednesday will be Concord's third time against a press this year, having already played Seton Hill and Bluefield State. While Concord did have 20 or more turnovers in both games, CU took advantage in the half court by shooting 53 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

GET ON THE LINE
If Tuesday's game comes down to the foul line, Concord holds an advantage in free-throw shooting. Though CU is only shooting 68 percent from the charity stripe this season, that's 10 points higher than Winston-Salem State in 2025-26. Additionally, CU is attempting 25 free throws per game while WSSU is only averaging 11 attempts at the foul line through three games. Smith is 82.6 percent at the free-throw line this season (19-for-23). Scales has made 9-of-12 at the foul line while Stubbs has connected on 72 percent of freebies (18-of-25). With the high-pressure rate, Winston-Salem State is committing nearly 23 fouls per game and allowing the opponent to shoot 24 free throws per game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5- Concord and Winston-Salem State are meeting for the fifth time in program history with CU trailing 3-1.

22- The Mountain Lions are outscoring teams by 22 points in the fourth quarter of games this season, 76-54, compared to being outscored by 15 combined points in the other three quarters.

75- Dating back to last season, CU has scored at least 75 points in six straight games.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
After falling to Division I NC A&T in a countable game for both teams, Winston-Salem State defeated Converse and USC-Aiken to enter the Carter Center with a 2-1 mark. The Rams doubled up USCA, 64-32. In the win over Converse, WSSU topped the century mark, winning 101-67. Maia Charles is averaging a near double-double with 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Waleed is netting 11 points per game. Winston-Salem State shoots just 38 percent from the floor and 22 percent from three-point range.