Concord Welcomes West Liberty for Senior Day

Concord Stats – West Liberty Stats – Live Video - Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team returns to the Carter Center for its senior day matchup against Mountain East Conference opponent West Liberty Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's contest.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
WLU leads 32-12
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST LIBERTY
January 15, 2025: Concord 68 – West Liberty 65 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
February 24, 2024: West Liberty 110 – Concord 103 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 17, 2024: Concord 92 – West Liberty 86 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 11, 2023: West Liberty 87 – Concord 70 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 4, 2023: West Liberty 87 – Concord 74 (Athens, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 13-12
MEC Record: 9-8
Home Record: 6-4
Away Record: 7-6
Neutral Record: 0-2
 
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
Concord will honor seven seniors prior to tipoff Saturday against the Hilltoppers. The senior class includes guard Skylar Davidson, guard Faith Diggs, guard/forward Shyanna James, forward Trina Lewis, guard Sanaiya Morris, forward Gabrielle Nielson, and guard Kylea Pollinger. Davidson ranks seventh all-time in program history with 265 assists and is eighth in school history with 161 steals. Morris, Lewis, and Diggs transferred in prior to this season and all have played significant minutes for the Mountain Lions. Morris is averaging 10.0 points per game for her senior campaign while taking away 1.7 steals per contest. Lewis has started in nine games this winter and notched a career-best 15 points against Point Park February 8. Diggs averages 9.7 minutes per game on the floor for CU and has appeared in 23 out of 25 games this season. Pollinger and James have spent their entire collegiate careers as Mountain Lions and Nielson transferred into Concord prior to this season but was sidelined due to injury.
 
SUPPORTING CAST
In Wednesday's road matchup against Wheeling, Concord logged a new season-high in bench points with 35. The previous mark was set when the Mountain Lions notched 33 bench points against Seton Hill on November 9. Against the Cardinals, junior forward Imani Hickman led the way as CU's leading scorer with 18 points off the bench. Hickman drained four three-pointers in the contest, tying her career-high. Morris rounded out double figure scorers not in the startling lineup with 10 points along with five rebounds. Junior guard Kennedy Scales was the only other player to log points off the bench with seven points in 21 minutes.
 
RAINING DOWN THREES
West Liberty enters Saturday as the MEC's second-highest three-point shooting team, making 9.0 three-point baskets per game. Additionally, WLU owns the league's third-best three-point percentage, shooting 33.3 percent from deep and holds opponents to 26.9 percent from beyond the arc, the best in the MEC. Over its last 10 games, CU has made at least five three-point baskets in seven games and set a new season-best of 13 triples against West Virginia Wesleyan February 12. The Mountain Lions have also shot above 35 percent from three-point range in four out of the last six games and have had a player hit at least three three-pointers in four consecutive outings. WLU junior guard Bailee Smith is shooting 38.5 percent from deep on the season and averages 2.5 made three-pointers per game.
 
FIND A WAY
While they have heated up from beyond the arc in recent games, the Maroon and Gray were held to 0-for-12 from three-point range in their first meeting against the Hilltoppers this winter. However, CU limited West Liberty to just six three-pointers in the game, three short of its season average. To combat its shortage of triples, the Mountain Lions scored 50 points in the paint and knocked down 10 free throws. Davidson recorded a new career-high in scoring, netting 28 points in the game. Smith (14) and Hickman (10) also scored in double figures. As a team, Concord found other ways to score, totaling 18 second chance points and 14 points off turnovers to fuel the offense.  
 
CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
The CU defense showed out in the first meeting between the two schools, holding WLU to 32.9 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. The Mountain Lions also won the rebounding battle, logging their largest rebounding margin of the season of +20 (64-44). Concord's 64 total rebounds fell just four shy of the single-game program record of 68. The 34 offensive boards are the most in a game since the 2011-12 season against Less-McRae when CU snagged 36. On the season, Concord is the third-best offensive rebounding team in the MEC averaging 14.6 offensive rebounds per game and is tied for 31^st in Division II. Smith leads the Mountain Lions in rebounding (10.3 per game) and is tied for 11^th nationally in individual offensive rebounds per game (4.3).
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 – Players averaging at least 10 points per game for both Concord and West Liberty
24 – Ties and lead changes when CU and WLU met earlier this winter, a season-high
123 – Games played in the career of Skylar Davidson
 
WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 8-17
MEC Record: 6-12
Home Record: 4-8
Away Record: 4-8
Neutral Record: 0-1
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
B. Smith ranks fifth in the MEC in points per game (15.5) and free throw percentage (82.3). Graduate forward Jenna Riccardo is tied for fourth in the league in field goal percentage (47.1) while averaging 12.6 points per game and grabbing 7.1 boards per game. Senior guard Anna Lucarelli leads the Hilltoppers in assists per game (3.0) and steals per game (1.2).