Tough 4th Quarter Sinks West Liberty Women
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord women's basketball team broke open a tight game with a strong fourth quarter to hand West Liberty an 86-75 setback Saturday afternoon inside the Carter Center.
Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (16-8, 11-7) had battled all the way back from a double-digit deficit in the early minutes of the fourth quarter but couldn't sustain the momentum.
Trailing 60-56 at the start of the quarter, West Liberty rallied to force a series of ties at 60-60, 62-62 and 64-64 but the Mountain Lions (16-9, 10-8) found a way to weather the storm.
A Maggie Guynn jumper put Concord ahead to stay, 66-64, at the 5:33 mark. The Hilltoppers turned the ball over on their next possession, paving the way for a conventional 3-point play by Maddie Ratliff and it was 69-64 Mountain Lions at the under-5 media timeout.
The margin never dropped below three points the rest of the way as the hosts were a near-perfect 10-for-11 from the foul line in the last 5 minutes.
Audrey Tingle led the way for West Liberty with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists despite missing nearly the entire second quarter after picking up her second personal foul. Bailee Smith also finished with 18 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Karly McCutcheon hit four 3-pointer on her way to 14 points and Corinne Thomas chipped in with 10 points.
Riley Fitzwater, Concord's All-America post, had another big game with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. Guynn matched Fitzwater's 23 points while Ratcliffe and Jaisah Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The West Liberty women look to bounce back on Wednesday when they return to the friendly confines of the ASRC for a 5:30 p.m. game against Frostburg State.