ATHENS, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State women's basketball team traveled to Concord on Sunday afternoon and came away with a narrow defeat, 70-67. The Yellow Jackets led by as much as 19 points early in the third period and were in the lead for over 20 minutes of the contest.

WVSU falls to 0-2 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss, while CU jumps to 1-1 in the MEC with the win.

Four Yellow Jackets scored in double-digits. Sophomores Alexis Hall and Erin Whitehead each posted 12 points. Meanwhile, junior guard Kalia Cunningham and sophomore forward Destiny Fields each scored 10 points.

Concord scored five unanswered points in the opening two minutes of the contest to give the Mountain Lions an early advantage. West Virginia State then responded with an 8-3 run over the next three minutes to tie the game up at 8-8.

CU once again pulled out in front with six unanswered points in just under a minute, 14-8. Cunningham then quickly cut that lead in half with a three-point bucket. Layups were traded by each team before Alana Kramer finished off the first quarter with a layup of her own to bring the Yellow Jackets back to within one point of Concord, 16-15.

In the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets found their rhythm and started knocking down shots from all over the floor. ZZ Russell and Whitehead each drained two shots from beyond the arc on a 22-10 run that gave WVSU an 11-point cushion with three minutes remaining in the first half, 37-26. 

West Virginia State then extended its advantage by ending the second quarter on an 8-3 run that contained a trey from Hall. The Yellow Jackets were subsequently able to go into halftime with a sizable 16-point lead, 45-29.
 
Both teams struggled to convert their shots at the start of the second half. After five minutes of action in the third quarter, WVSU still held a 15-point advantage over CU, 52-37. 

In the remaining five minutes of the third quarter, the Mountain Lions chipped away at the deficit. Concord produced an 18-7 run that ended with a buzzer-beating jumper to cut West Virginia State's lead to six points, 61-55.

After scoring six unanswered to begin the fourth quarter, CU managed to reset the game at 61-all with eight minutes left to play. The following five minutes was slow-going on both ends. Consecutive jumpers by Charity Shears and Cunningham put WVSU back in the lead, 67-66.

Riley Fitzwater's layup with around a minute to go put CU back in front, 68-67. West Virginia State then threw up a flurry of shots to try to regain the lead, but couldn't convert. Concord's Maggie Guynn was sent to the foul line for two shots to give the contest its final score. The Yellow Jackets had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but didn't knock down the necessary three-pointer.

WVSU forced 33 turnovers as a team while turning the ball over a total of 17 times. CU shot better from the field with a 49 percent conversion rate compared to 27 percent by West Virginia State.

The Yellow Jackets will return to Institute for their next game versus Notre Dame College on Wednesday, Jan. 13. The tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.