PITTSBURGH – The Concord University women's basketball team took the lead 11 seconds into the game and never looked back in an 80-67 road win over Mountain East Conference opponent Point Park at the CCAC-Allegheny Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
The Mountain Lions (11-11, 7-7 MEC) scored 54 points in the first half to lead by 31 at the halftime break.
With the score tied 4-4 at the 8:56 mark in the first quarter, junior forward
Abbie Smith scored off a steal from senior guard
Skylar Davidson to ignite the Concord offense. Sophomore guard
Alexis Frazee then sank a three-point basket and junior guard
Kennedy Scales added back-to-back fastbreak layups to help grab a 15-4 edge just under four minutes into the game.
Smith capped off the first quarter for CU with 10 points to carry a 14-point advantage, 26-12, into the second.
Sophomore guard
Madison Young kept the Maroon and Gray's fast start going, hitting a three-pointer to begin the second period. Then, Smith, Davidson, and Frazee added consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 21, 35-14, with 7:07 left until halftime.
CU ended the first half on an 11-2 run to lead by 31, 54-23, after 20 minutes of action. The Mountain Lions shot 64.7 percent (22-for-34) from the field and knocked down four three-pointers in six tries (66.7 percent) in the first half.
Point Park (7-14, 5-10 MEC) closed the gap to 19 midway through the third, but Young responded with another triple to push the margin back to 22, 57-35, with 6:03 remaining. However, the Pioneers got within 12, 61-49, heading into the fourth quarter.
A three-point play from Smith and a three-point bucket from senior guard
Sanaiya Morris to start the final 10 minutes of action gave CU a 67-49 cushion just under 30 seconds into the fourth. PPU cut the deficit to single digits, but eight points in the frame from Morris closed out a 13-point win for Concord, 80-67.
Smith led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for her second-straight double-double. Davidson also notched a double-double with 10 points and a career-best 11 assists to go along with five steals and four rebounds. Graduate guard
Trina Lewis set a new career-high in scoring, netting 15 points by going 6-for-9 from the field.
Frazee rounded out double figure scorers with 10 points as a pair of three-pointers spurred her scoring. Young made the most three-pointers for CU, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc for nine points.
CU heads to the Rockefeller Center in search of its fourth straight win over West Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
