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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WBB23 Bailey
Photo: Sam Santilli
62
Concord Conc 17-13,11-9 MEC
73
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 21-9,14-6 MEC
Concord Conc
17-13,11-9 MEC
62
Final
73
West Virginia St. WVSt
21-9,14-6 MEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Concord Conc 10 20 17 15 62
West Virginia St. WVSt 15 23 18 17 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Bryan Shepherd, Assistant Sports Information Director

WVSU Women’s Basketball is headed to their first-ever conference championship game

WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia State's women's basketball team (21-9) won the rubber match against the Concord Mountain Lions (17-13) with a 73-62 victory in the Mountain East Conference Championship Tournament semifinals at Wesbanco Arena on Saturday. State led wire-to-wire and was never tied except for when the game started at 0-0. 

Hallie Bailey led the well-balanced Yellow Jacket offense with 12 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal. ZZ Russel scored 11 points, gathered four boards, and had three steals. Anysa Jordan, Shelby Harmeyer, and Imani Reid all had nine points. Jordan, Destiny Fields and Emyah Fortenberry each had nine rebounds. 

The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Mountain Lions 52-43, including 25-11 on the offensive glass.

State grabbed the lead 27 seconds into the contest with an Ashley Kerekes layup off the opening tip. Fortenberry hit a layup on the next possession and Jordan jacked a trey to take a 7-0 lead. Neither team scored for the next three minutes and Concord finally hit their first points of the game nearly six minutes in. A Shriver trey and a Jordan layup expanded the lead to 12-3. Concord scored the next seven points to close the gap. Harmeyer was fouled in the waning moments of the quarter attempting a three and drained all three free throws to close the first quarter, 15-10.

The run continued from the first quarter, going 9-0 with a Fields jumper and two sets of foul shots each by Bailey and Fields. Concord then went on an 8-1 run that went to the under-five media timeout. The Mountain Lions got as close as three points with 4:27 to play in the half. State responded with a free throw from Fortenberry, a converted and-one from Caroline Scott and a pair of jumpers from Bailey. Concord trimmed the lead back down to three points, However the Yellow Jackets outscored Concord 8-3 through the rest of the quarter, 38-30.

WVSU scored the first 10 points of the third quarter with Harmeyer and Russell each jacking a trey and Jordan and Bailey hitting layups. Concord began chipping the lead down through the third quarter media timeout again coming as close as four points. State hit the next five points courtesy of a Fortenberry foul shot and layups by Reid and Russell, 56-47.

Concord opened the scoring in the final quarter, scoring the first six points again closing the gap to three, 56-53. State responded by scoring the next six points at the halfway mark of the frame, 62-53. A trey by Concord cut the lead to six, but State answered every basket Concord made through the end of the game then made their free throws to secure the championship game berth.

The Yellow Jackets will play for their first conference championship in program history on Sunday against the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons at 2 p.m. at Wesbanco Arena.
 
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