Concord Women Drop Thriller to Alderson-Broaddus, 61-59 - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Concord Women Drop Thriller to Alderson-Broaddus, 61-59

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ATHENS -

The Concord University women's basketball team overcame one of its worst first half's of the season to come back and take a lead late into the game before a basket by Cayla Rhodes gave Alderson-Broaddus a lead that it would cling to en route to a 61-59 Tuesday night at the Carter Center.

Concord (6-15 overall, 5-10 WVIAC) trailed by three points with eight seconds left to play when a three-point attempt by sophomore forward Rachel Artrip nearly tied the game before rattling off the rim. However, sophomore forward Jacqueline Kestner kept hope alive for Concord by pulling in the missed shot and drawing a foul.

Kestner proceeded to knock down two free throws to pull Concord to within one point at 59-58 with five seconds remaining in the regulation. CU immediately fouled to send Alderson-Broaddus to the foul line where Leah Hurst made one of two free throws, giving Concord the ball with three seconds remaining and down by two points. A desperation shot by Artrip missed, allowing A-B to escape with a narrow road win.

Artrip had another strong scoring night, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Kestner earned her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kestner and junior guard Amanda Smith both finished with a game-high three steals.

Sophomore guard Stephanie Wagner and freshman guard Leslie Mack chipped in nine and eight points, respectively.
Concord committed just six turnovers on the night while forcing 21 Alderson-Broaddus turnovers thanks to a constant pressure defense that also resulted in 11 steals.

CU began the second period trailing A-B by 11 points, 26-15, after a first half in which Concord shot 20 percent from the field and scored its fewest points in a half this year.

The second period was a completely different game; CU went 17-for-39 from the field (43.6 percent) and 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from the three-point line in the final 20 minutes.

The Mountain Lions erased the double-digit deficit and tied the game at 37-37 with 14:30 left to play thanks to a 22-11 run that featured seven points from Kestner and six points from both Artrip and Wagner.

Concord finally took the lead for the first time when Artrip converted a layup to put CU up 57-55 with 3:22 to play. A free throw from Hurst and the aforementioned jumper by Rhodes led to Concord's last-minute comeback attempt that fell just short.

Rhodes led A-B with 15 points.

Concord returns to action Thursday at the University of Charleston for another conference match-up. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.