Concord Women Fall to Davis & Elkins, 76-62 - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Concord Women Fall to Davis & Elkins, 76-62

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ELKINS -

A slow start proved costly for the Concord University women's basketball team in its 76-62 loss at Davis & Elkins Monday night. The Mountain Lions outscored the Senators 60-57 over the final 33 minutes of action, but a 19-2 run by D&E in the game's first seven minutes was too much to overcome.

CU's record drops to 4-11 overall and 3-6 in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with the loss. Davis & Elkins improved its record to 6-7 overall and 5-4 in conference play with the victory.

Sophomore forwards Jacqueline Kestner and Rachel Artrip both scored career-highs to lead the Mountain Lions. Artrip scored 22 points while Kestner added 15. Monday marked the third consecutive game in which Kestner has scored at least 10 points.

Artrip was 6-for-14 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and 7-for-8 from the foul line. She also grabbed seven rebounds, while making a career-high five steals, and two assists. Kestner went 6-for-9 overall from the field and 2-for-3 from long range.

Freshman guard Leslie Mack and junior guard Amanda Smith both contributed to CU's offense with eight points. Senior guard Katy Somerville grabbed four boards and dished out four assists.

As a team, the Mountain Lions shot 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three-point range, and 76.9 percent (10-for-13) at the free-throw line. On the defensive end, CU had 10 steals, two blocks, and forced the Senators to turn the ball over 18 times.

D&E started its early run by hitting 8-of-15 shots to take a commanding 19-2 lead through the opening 6:40 of the game. Concord started gaining momentum towards the end of the first half by going on a 23-18 run for the remainder of the period to end the first half down 12 points at 37-25. The run was led by Artrip, who closed the half with 11 points.

Concord remained hot to start the second half, scoring nine of the period's first 11 points to cut the Davis & Elkins lead down to just five points, 39-34, with 17:49 to play thanks to a three-pointer from Artrip, a pair of foul shots and a layup from Smith as well as a field goal from Kestner.

However, the five-point margin was the closest Concord's comeback bid got as Davis & Elkins regrouped to extend its lead to as many as 23 points on its way to the 76-62 victory.

The Senators were led by Beth Gribble with 15 points and Page Turner with 13 points.

Concord will return home on Thursday to face Alderson-Broaddus in another WVIAC match-up. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm at the Carter Center.