Concord Battles for MEC Tournament Seeding in Home Finale Against Glenville State

Concord Stats – Glenville State Stats – Live Video – Live Stats – Complete Game Notes
 
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team wraps up its 2024-25 regular season with a home game against Mountain East Conference rival Glenville State Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for Saturday's game.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
GSU leads 46-13
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST GLENVILLE STATE
January 25, 2025: Glenville State 76 – Concord 72 (Glenville, W.Va.)
March 2, 2024: Concord 80 – Glenville State 75 (Glenville, W.Va.)
January 27, 2024: Glenville State 94 – Concord 83 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 25, 2023: Glenville State 86 – Concord 81 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 21, 2023: Glenville State 78 – Concord 69 (Glenville, W.Va.)

TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
The Mountain Lions claim the fifth seed in the upcoming MEC Tournament with a win over GSU and a win from West Virginia State over Charleston. CU remains the sixth seed with a win and a Charleston win over WVSU. Concord falls to the seventh seed in the tournament with a loss and a UC win. Finally, the Maroon and Gray becomes the eight seed if they lose and West Virginia State defeats Charleston.
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 14-13
MEC Record: 10-9
Home Record: 7-4
Away Record: 7-7
Neutral Record: 0-2
 
AT THE RIGHT TIME
Junior forward Abbie Smith is hitting her stride with the MEC Tournament looming. The Little Hocking, Ohio native has logged double-doubles in her last two games for a conference-leading 15 on the season. After a slow start at West Liberty, Smith finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in an 81-71 win over the Hilltoppers. She followed up that performance with a game-best 22 points and 12 boards against West Virginia State Wednesday. Smith is averaging a double-double in season averages, scoring 17.2 points per game (third in MEC) and grabbing 10.4 rebounds per game (third in MEC). Her recent hot streak comes before the MEC Tournament where she has averaged 16.8 points per game on 60.3 percent shooting in her career inside WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va.
 
BENCH BRIGADE
Alongside Smith's hot streak, the CU bench has come alive in the month of February. The Mountain Lions' non-starters have logged at least 20 points in six-out-of-eight games this month and recently set a new season-high of 35 against Wheeling. In the last meeting between CU and Glenville State, sophomore guard Alexis Frazee netted a career-best 26 points by going 10-of-13 from the field while knocking down four three-pointers. Against West Liberty last Saturday, junior forward Imani Hickman led all bench scorers with 16 points along with 14 rebounds. Against WVSU Wednesday, sophomore forward Saniya Hymes scored in double figures for the first time as a member of the Maroon and Gray with 11 points on three three-point baskets.
 
SETTLE THE SCORE
The Mountain Lions will try to even the regular season series when the Pioneers enter the Carter Center Saturday. When the two teams met earlier this winter inside the Waco Center, it was GSU that came out with a 76-72 win. CU fell behind by double figures in the first half, but came out of the locker room strong in the third quarter, wrestling for the lead throughout the final 20 minutes of action but ultimately fell short. Frazee's career day paved the way for Concord offensively, followed up with Smith with 17 points on seven made free throws and nine rebounds. Glenville State topped CU at home last season before the Mountain Lions got the last word with an 80-75 victory in the 2023-24 regular season finale. It was the first win over GSU since the nationally-ranked Pioneers lost in the Carter Center in 2021 and the first road win for Concord in the series since 2014.
 
BATTLE OF THE BEST
CU's defense will have its hands full when matching up with GSU guards Tynasia Bunting and Nwando Okigbo. Both players play multiple different positions for the Pioneers and offer versatility on both ends of the floor. Bunting, a senior from Newport News, Va. ranks sixth in the MEC in scoring (15.0) while shooting a team-best 44.8 percent from the floor and 76.9 percent from the charity stripe. Okigbo scores 12.2 points per game and ranks second in the league in rebounding (10.6) while swatting 0.9 blocks per game. However, they will match up against CU's Smith and Hickman both offensively and defensively. Hickman and Smith anchor the Mountain Lions' defense swatting 0.8 and 0.7 blocks per game, respectively. Additionally, Hickman and Smith lead the Mountain Lions in rebounding and combine for 28.3 points per game offensively.
 
TOURNAMENT TIME
Last year's regular season finale win over Glenville State was the first win in the final game before the MEC tournament since the 2021 win over the 17^th-rated Pioneers at home. Over the last six seasons, the Maroon and Gray have won four out of the last six regular season conclusions and have gone on to reach the MEC Semifinals in three of those four efforts. Last winter, Concord began its tournament run by taking down third-seeded Frostburg Sate in the quarterfinal round and fell to West Virginia State in the quarterfinal round.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7 – 20-point games for Smith this season, eclipsing her six 20+ point performances from last year
8 – Blocks versus West Virginia State, a team-high this winter
11 – Consecutive wins for Concord this season when scoring at least 80 points as a team
 
GLENVILLE STATE AT A GLANCE
2024-25 Record: 17-10
MEC Record: 11-8
Home Record: 9-5
Away Record: 7-4
Neutral Record: 1-1
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
After exiting January's matchup against CU 8-3 in MEC play, GSU sits at 11-8 against conference competition and can clinch as high as the third seed in the conference tournament or fall as far as the sixth seed Saturday. Alongside Okigbo and Bunting, senior guard Dream Cherry leads the Pioneers with 60 made three-point baskets and shooting 30.3 percent from deep. Senior guard Jade Salters ranks fifth in the MEC taking away 2.3 steals per game defensively.