Concord Opens Home MEC Slate Against Charleston

Concord Stats - Charleston Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University women's basketball team hosts Charleston in the Mountain East Conference home opener at the Carter Center Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

COVERAGE:
Live Stats
Live Video

HISTORY:
Series History vs. Charleston: Charleston leads 46-18

Last Five Meetings vs. Charleston:
January 22, 2025: Charleston 64 - Concord 63 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 23, 2024: Concord 85 - Charleston 78 (Charleston, W.Va.)
January 24, 2024: Concord 70 - Charleston 58 (Charleston, W.Va.)
November 18, 2023: Concord 54 - Charleston 44 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 4, 2023: Charleston 78 - Concord 54 (Wheeling, W.Va.)

TALE OF THE TAPE: Concord vs. Charleston

Concord	Statistical Category	Charleston
4	Wins	3
76.6	Points Per Game	61.0
78.9	Points Allowed Per Game	64.4
39.7	Rebounds Per Game	43.3
13.0	Assists Per Game	12.7
8.1	Steals Per Game	3.7
3.4	Blocks Per Game	1.8
44.3	Field Goal Percentage	40.5
32.8	Three Point Percentage	30.3
71.3	Free Throw Percentage	75.0

Concord Leaders:
Points Per Game: Abbie Smith (18.1), Kenyah Stubbs (15.1), Olivia Ziolkowski (11.3)
Rebounds Per Game: Abbie Smith (11.0), Olivia Ziolkowski (5.7)
Assists Per Game: Kiley Smich (2.6), Kenyah Stubbs (2.4)
Blocks Per Game: Abbie Smith (1.3)
Steals Per Game: Kiley Smich (2.1)
Field-Goal Leader: Abbie Smith (57.5)
Three-Pointers Made: Olivia Ziolkowski (11)
Free-Throw Percentage: Abbie Smith (82.5)

Charleston Leaders:
Points Per Game: Paris Stokes (16.2), Harper Annarino (10.2), Ksenija Mitric (8.3)
Rebounds Per Game: Harper Annarino (9.0), Bridget Womber (6.5)
Assists Per Game: Ksenija Mitric (4.3), Paris Stokes (3.8)
Blocks Per Game: Harper Annarino (0.8)
Steals Per Game: Paris Stokes (1.3)
Field-Goal Leader: Paris Stokes (42.1)
Three-Pointers Made: Harper Annarino (9)
Free-Throw Percentage: Paris Stokes (92.6)
 
BACK IN BUSINESS
Senior forward Abbie Smith notched her fifth 20-point outing and fifth double-double in the 80-74 win over West Virginia State Wednesday. Her 22 points and 14 rebounds were crucial in Concord winning their conference opener. CU is 4-1 when Smith finishes with a double-double this season. An addition to her game this year has been her ability to knock down threes. While attempting just six on the season, she has made two of them and is forcing defenses to close out on her. While her prowess in the post is well-known, Smith has excellent touch from the charity stripe. On the season she is 33-40 from the line (82.5 percent) which ranks seventh in the MEC.
 
CLOSE EM OUT
Entering the final quarter against the Yellow Jackets, Concord led by just one point and WVSU had all the momentum at home. However, the Mountain Lions posted an impressive fourth quarter to come away with the win. Six different players for CU scored in the final 10 minutes. Concord did an excellent job at generating free throws in the fourth quarter as 15 of its 21 attempts from the stripe for the game came in the last quarter. The Mountain Lions shot 15-21 (76.2 percent) for the game and 10-15 (66.7 percent) in the fourth. Sophomore guard Kenyah Stubbs scored seven of her 17 points in the fourth, tacking on a rebound and an assist. Smith did everything for Concord, recording five points, five rebounds, one assist, and a block in the fourth quarter alone.
 
FROM DOWNTOWN
As a unit, Concord is hitting threes at a higher percentage than it did a season ago and the highest under Coach Tesla Southcott. From three-point range, Concord is 42-128 (32.8 percent) to start the season. This not only improves on the Mountain Lions' 29.2 percent mark from a season ago, but ranks them second in the conference behind West Virginia Wesleyan. The Mountain Lions have not been afraid to shoot the three either, attempting the fourth most threes in the MEC and they average six makes per game. Senior forward Olivia Ziolkowski leads the team from beyond the arc, going 11-24 (45.8 percent) through seven games. Coming off an injury, junior guard Alexis Frazee has continued to shine as a shooter, making five of her first 10 threes thus far in four games.
 
PROTECT THE CARTER CENTER
With conference play rolling in, Concord has used home court advantage to the best of their ability. So far in the 2025-26 season, the Mountain Lions are 2-2 at the Carter Center with the conference home opener on deck this Saturday. A season ago, Concord had an overall home record of 8-4 and they went 6-4 against MEC foes at home. Under Coach Southcott, Concord has a home MEC record of 18-13. CU's last home win against their next opponent, Charleston, came on November 18, 2023 as the Mountain Lions edged out a 54-44 victory.
 
DICTATE THE PACE
Saturday's matchup of Concord and Charleston will see two very different brands of basketball go head-to-head. The Mountain Lions play at a much higher pace, averaging 76.6 points per game (second in the MEC) and force opponents to commit 17.7 turnovers per game (fourth highest in the MEC). The Golden Eagles average 61.0 points per game (eighth MEC) and like to work in the half court on offense. While Charleston doesn't run up and down or force turnovers as some of its counterparts in the league, CU's halfcourt defense is very solid. The Golden Eagles are holding opponents to just 64.8 points per game which is tied for second in the MEC. UC's 37 percent field-goal defense is far and away the best in the conference.
 
MAKE UP GROUND
In the all-time series, Charleston has gotten the better of Concord as it holds a commanding 46-18 lead. Despite the history, the Mountain Lions are looking to get back in the win column. The two teams split the season series in 2024-25 with the road team winning both games. In 2023-24, the Mountain Lions swept Charleston and in 2022-23, Charleston earned the sweep over Concord. That puts Coach Southcott at an even 3-3 against the Golden Eagles in the regular season. In last year's matchup in Athens, Charleston narrowly escaped with a 64-63 win. The Golden Eagles had five scorers in double figures and it was a pair of free throws from junior guard Paris Stokes with one second left in regulation to push Charleston over the edge. Abbie Smith led the way for CU with 16 points and six boards.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 - Concord is searching for their fourth win over Charleston under Coach Southcott.
 
11 - Abbie Smith's 11 rebounds per game is tied for the top spot in the MEC.
 
24 - Concord has 24 blocks on the season, second most in the conference.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Charleston sits at 3-3 on the season and is coming off a win over Glenville State in the MEC opener. Sophomore forward Harper Annarino notched her career high with 22 points and added 13 rebounds to it. Stokes has been one of the most prominent guards in the conference to start this season. Stokes is averaging 16.2 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, as well as 3.8 assists per game. Stokes ranks sixth in the MEC in both scoring and assists. Senior guard Ksenija Mitric is another facilitator for UC, dishing out an average of 4.3 assists per game in her four games played.