Concord Overwhelms Salem in 84-63 Win

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University women's basketball team took down Salem, 84-63, in its final non-conference game of the season at the Carter Center Wednesday night.
 
CU (10-11) took the lead at 9:16 in the first quarter on a three-point play from senior guard Skylar Davidson and never looked back.
 
In fact, after Salem (1-22) scored the game's first basket, the Mountain Lions went on a 16-2 scoring run over the next five minutes of play. Sophomore guard Alexis Frazee scored five straight points to push the lead to 8-4 at the 7:26 mark. Then, four consecutive stops from Concord's defense led to four-straight field goals to jump ahead 16-4 with 4:31 on the clock.
 
Davidson had the last say in the quarter, hitting a midrange jumper late in the frame to take an 18-11 advantage into the second period.
 
The Tigers closed the gap to one, 18-17, but another double-digit scoring spurt swelled the margin back to 10. Junior guard Kennedy Scales scored six-straight points on three consecutive layups to cap off the run with 6:02 left until halftime.
 
Scales scored eight of CU's 21 points in the frame as the Maroon and Gray carried a 14-point edge, 39-25, into the halftime break. Graduate forward Trina Lewis sank a three-pointer at the 1:51 mark followed by a pair of buckets from senior guard Sanaiya Morris and Frazee with under a minute left.
 
Salem brought the score within single digits once again, 46-38, with 6:08 left in the third period, but the Mountain Lions answered quickly. Junior forward Abbie Smith scored seven-straight Concord points to grow the lead back to 13 at the 5:16 mark. Following a Salem basket, Davidson connected on a three-pointer to give CU a 56-40 edge at the 2:58 mark and a 61-46 advantage after three.
 
The Mountain Lions maintained their double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, with Smith giving Concord its first 20-point margin of the game, 78-58, with 3:22 left in the game and holding out for a 21-point win, 84-63.
 
Five different players scored in double figures for the Maroon and Gray, led by Smith with 18 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Davidson scored 16, Scales added 14 points, Morris netted 13 points along with five steals and four assists, and Frazee logged 10 points while knocking down a team-high two three-pointers. It was the first time since December 15 against Fairmont State that CU had five players score at least 10 points.
 
Concord outrebounded the Tigers 41-33 in the game while forcing 23 Salem turnovers with 12 steals.
 
The Mountain Lions make their first road trip to Mountain East Conference newcomer Point Park Saturday at 2:00 p.m.