Concord Earns 70-66 Win Over Ohio Valley - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Concord Earns 70-66 Win Over Ohio Valley

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ATHENS -

The Concord University women's basketball team busted its four-game losing streak Saturday afternoon with a 70-66 win over Ohio Valley University in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition from the Carter Center.

Concord (7-18, 6-13 WVIAC) was once again led by sophomore guard Stephanie Wagner, who scored 18 points for the second consecutive game. Wagner, who also passed out a team-high six assists, was 5-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line.

Wagner has scored in double figures in five of CU's last six games and, also compiling 29 assists and just seven turnovers in the same time span.

Sophomore forward Jacqueline Kestner and junior guard Amanda Smith helped lead a balanced Mountain Lion scoring attack with 11 and 14 points, respectively. Smith and sophomore forward Rachel Artrip, who scored seven points, tied for a team-high five rebounds while Kestner made a game-best two steals.

Freshman guard Leslie Mack and senior guard Katy Somerville rounded out Concord's leading scorers with seven and six points each.

As a team, Concord made the most of its opportunities from the free throw line, connecting on 23-of-31 (74.2 percent) of its foul shots.

The Mountain Lions' defense pressured Ohio Valley (2-22, 2-18 WVIAC) into 20 turnovers. Concord finished with an impressive plus-13 turnover margin after committing just seven miscues of its own.

Ohio Valley opened the game on a 12-4 run before Concord rallied to tie the contest at 14-14. The remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth contest that featured 13 lead changes and seven ties.

However, Wagner was able to give Concord a three-point, 35-32, lead heading into the break with four straight points to end the half.

After an 8-5 run put the Fighting Scots back on top 40-39 three minutes into the second half, Concord was able to wrestle control of the contest away from OVU for good with a dominating 13-2 run over the next five minutes that put Concord up by a game-high 10 points.

The 10-point lead proved to be more than enough for Concord. Ohio Valley managed to trim the deficit to two points, 67-66, with 1:40 to play, but CU finished off the Fighting Scots thanks to a layup by Wagner followed by a free throw from Artrip that made it a two possession game, 70-66, with only seven seconds remaining in regulation.

Jasmine Gibson scored a game-high 27 points for the Fighting Scots.

The Mountain Lions host West Virginia State at the Carter Center for a WVIAC match-up on Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m.