Concord Women Pick Up Road Win at Ohio Valley, 72-48 - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

The Concord University women's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak Monday night with a 72-48 win at Ohio Valley. The victory was the Mountain Lions' largest of the season.

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference triumph improves Concord's record to 4-9 overall and 3-4 the league. Ohio Valley dropped to 0-11 overall and 0-7 in WVIAC play.

Concord shot a season-best 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor offensively and the 48 points allowed were a season-low for CU on the defensive end as was Ohio Valley's 27.3 percent shooting night from the field.

The Mountain Lions controlled nearly every facet of the game. Concord finished the contest holding advantages in rebounds (41-39), assists (16-11), steals (5-4), second chance points (23-13) and points off of turnovers (14-5). Concord, which entered the game ranked 13th in the nation in turnovers per game, committed a season-low seven turnovers on the night.

Junior forward Andrea Bertrand registered her second double-double in three games with a 20-point, 11-rebound performance. Bertrand, who also stole two passes, went 6-for-10 from the field and 8-for-14 from the foul line.

Sophomore guard Stephanie Wagner and sophomore forward Jacqueline Kestner joined Bertrand in double-figures with 15 points and 10 points, respectively. Wagner, who is 33rd in the nation in assists per game, also chipped in six assists and five rebounds. Rounding out Concord's leading scorers was senior guard Katy Somerville, who connected on three three-point attempts to score nine points.

Concord wasted little time establishing its dominance in the first half, using a 16-6 run in the game's first nine minutes of play to open up a comfortable lead that it never relinquished. The Mountain Lions benefited from a balanced scoring attack that saw all five starters score points during CU's strong start.

The Maroon and Gray grew their lead to as many as 14 points in the opening half before taking a 12-point, 29-17, advantage over Ohio Valley into halftime. Bertrand nearly compiled a double-double in the first half alone, finishing the period with 10 points and seven rebounds. Somerville connected on two three-pointers to close the period with six points while Wagner added five points.

Concord continued to be the aggressors in the second half. The Mountain Lions came out of the break to score 18 of the half's first 26 points to push their lead to 47-25 with 11 minutes left in the second period. Concord's lead did not drop below 15 points for the remainder of the game as the Mountain Lions cruised to the 24-point victory, 72-48.

CU scored 43 points in the second half which was Concord's third-highest point total in a half this season, trailing only a 45-point half vs. UVA-Wise and a 44-point period against West Virginia Tech.

Shelby Way scored 14 points in the losing effort for Ohio Valley.

The Mountain Lions will look for a second consecutive win when they return home to the Carter Center to play Fairmont State 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 12.