INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Women's Basketball battled Wednesday in Walker Convocation Center, falling to league opponent Concord in overtime, 101-95.
The Yellow Jackets drop their fourth-straight contest and slip to 17-9 on the year and 13-9 in Mountain East Conference action. The Mountain Lions move to 20-9 on the year and 13-8 in MEC play.
Junior Shelby Harmeyer turned in a career-high performance with 27 points and added seven rebounds. Senior Charity Shears posted 18 points, while sophomore Caroline Scott and classmate ZZ Russell each tallied nine. Freshman Emyah Fortenberry totaled 11 boards and added seven points, including the game-tying basket to send the squad to overtime.
The Yellow Jackets controlled the tempo for most of the opening frame, starting the contest on a 6-2 run and later built a 19-12 lead on a 7-0 scoring drive that featured five points from Harmeyer.
The junior continued with her sharp shooting, hauling in two treys with under two minutes remaining in the stanza, putting State ahead 29-23 as the first quarter came to a close.
The Mountain Lions narrowed the deficit to just four points at 36-32 with 6:29 on the clock before a three from Scott lifted State to 39-32. The Yellow Jackets moved to an 8-2 run from that point over the next two minutes in a sequence that featured three pointers from both senior Alana Kramer and Russell to go up 47-36.
Concord threatened late in the second quarter, going on a 7-2 run to close out the frame and trim the gap to just six points at 49-43.
Harmeyer finished the half with 15 points, while Russell added seven.
A string of Mountain Lion layups nestled in between a Harmeyer three continued to put pressure on the Yellow Jackets, who held a narrow 52-49 lead two minutes into the third frame. Concord used an 8-1 scoring run to tie the contest at 55 all.
A game of back-and-forth ensued, as the two squads endured ties at both the 57 and 59 point marks, before Concord gained control at 61-59.
A layup from Russell narrowed the margin to just one point at 62-61, before the Mountain Lions responded with eight consecutive points to build a 70-61 advantage to close out the quarter.
Seven straight points opened up the finale for WVSU, courtesy of a Harmeyer trey, a pair of free throws from Kramer, and a layup from Fortenberry.
Within two points, Concord used a pair of shots from the charity stripe to regain a four-point cushion, but Scott cut the lead to two again with a layup to bring the score to 72-70.
The cat-and-mouse returned, as the Mountain Lions continued to add some insurance at 74-70 before a three pointer from Shears put State back within one point with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.
Another trey from Shears tied the contest at 76-76, and a pair of free throws from junior Hannah Shriver tied the game once more at 78-78.
The Mountain Lions responded with six consecutive points to build an 84-78 mark with 1:16 left on the clock.
Work at the charity stripe from the Shears sisters brought State back within four points at 85-81 with 42 seconds left, and Shears continued with the momentum with a jumper to cut the lead to just two points at 85-83. Fortenberry played the hero card, tallying a jumper with 13 seconds remaining to tie the contest at 85 all and force overtime.
Concord built a five-point advantage to open overtime, before another Harmeyer trey cut the deficit to 90-88 once more. The Mountain Lions pulled up a pair of shots to regain the five-point lead, and rode out the extra period to a 101-95 victory.
UP NEXT
State will close out their 2022 regular season Saturday, welcoming cross-county rivals Charleston for a 2 p.m. tip at Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets bested the Golden Eagles 76-67 in late January.
