Concord Blitzes Charleston During Third-Quarter Spurt, Leading to 68-61 Win

ATHENS, W.Va..- The Concord University women's basketball team mounted a second-half comeback to defeat Charleston in the Mountain East Conference home opener Saturday afternoon at the Carter Center.
 
After trailing by 11 points entering halftime, 40-29, Concord (5-3, 2-0 MEC) stormed back with another impressive second half to take down Charleston (3-4, 1-1 MEC).
 
Concord began the third quarter by scoring 12 of the first 13 points as a three-point play by sophomore guard Kenyah Stubbs capped the run with a three-point to tie the game at 41-41. The run wasn't done as after a turnover, freshman guard Cadence Blackburn found fellow freshman guard Lacee Smith for a three-pointer.
 
Concord opened up a seven-point lead at the end of the third quarter as Stubbs knocked down a deep three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to put CU up 52-45 entering the fourth.
 
In the third quarter, the Mountain Lions outscored Charleston, 23-5, and held UC without a field goal until the final 20 seconds of the period.
 
Charleston showed resiliency, cutting the lead to two with 6:07 left in regulation. That's when senior forward Abbie Smith battled through contact to sink a layup and added the free throw for an old-fashioned, three-point play. She completed another and-one with 2:25 on the clock to put Concord up 60-54.
 
The Golden Eagles cut the lead to just two after a pair of triples. Again, Smith answered the call one more time, nailing a turnaround jumper with 19 seconds left to make it 64-60.
 
Stubbs went to the stripe two more times down the stretch, going 4-of-4 to ice the game.
 
The first half saw both teams start red hot in the first five minutes of the game, but Concord's offense slowly tapered off after being tied 15-15 at the first-quarter media timeout. UC outscored the Mountain Lions 25-14 over the final 14 minutes of the first half.
 
Smith led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, her second straight double-double and sixth of the season. Stubbs notched her third game with over 20 points, dropping in 21 points and pairing it with six boards. The Mountain Lions only had two players in double figures but got seven points, two blocks, and two steals from senior forward Olivia Ziolkowski. Freshman forward Jamecia Huntley stuffed the stat sheet with six points, three assists, two rebounds, a block, and a steal.
 
Concord stays in Athens for another MEC battle, facing Frostburg State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.