ATHENS, W.Va. — Concord (18-9, 13-6 MEC) used a big first half and efficient shooting to pull away from West Virginia State (12-14, 8-11 MEC) in a 95-61 Mountain East Conference decision Wednesday night (Feb. 25) at the Carter Center.

After the teams were tied 17-17 late in the first quarter, Concord closed the period on a 2:07 run to take a 19-17 lead, then stretched it in the second. The Mountain Lions outscored the Yellow Jackets 19-8 in the second quarter to carry a 38-25 advantage into halftime. Concord then won the third (30-20) and fourth (27-16) to extend the margin.

Concord shot 35-of-59 from the floor (59.3%) with 10 three-pointers and 25 assists, while West Virginia State finished 25-of-74 (33.8%) and 6-of-20 from three. WVSU forced 13 turnovers and scored 15 points off turnovers, but was limited to five assists on the offensive end. Concord held a 46-36 edge in points in the paint and a 17-7 advantage in fast-break points.

Latisha Parris led WVSU with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds and four steals. Baylee Goins scored 15 points (3-of-7 from three) with seven rebounds and three steals, and Imani Hickman added 11 points. Kenly Rogers scored nine points off the bench.

For Concord, Abbie Smith posted 22 points and 11 rebounds, Kennedy Scales scored 19, Kenyah Stubbs added 15 points with nine assists, and Olivia Ziolkowski finished with 15 points.

The final regular season game for WVSU will be Saturday, Feb. 28 for the Kanawha River Classic at 2:00 p.m. against the University of Charleston.