Athens – Concord women’s basketball coach Kenny Osborne was concerned with how his team would fare without starter Maddie Ratcliff.
Those worries were nonexistent after three quarters.
The host Mountain Lions blistered the nets, shooting 52 percent from the field in a 91-52 win over Alderson Broaddus Wednesday night in Athens.
With All-American center Riley Fitzwater disappearing for stretches early in the season, Osborne made it a point to get the 6-foot-5 center involved in the offense early.
It worked like a charm.
“They don’t have a true post so in our preparation we had to make sure Fitzwater gets the ball,” Osborne said. “A couple games this year, she was a second-team All-American and she was MIA. She wasn’t MIA tonight so we knew with them fronting the post and no backside help, we had the lobs there and I just think we got a little winded in the second quarter, but we did a great job in the first quarter of moving the ball and people. In the third quarter I thought we played sluggish in the first two minutes but after that Jazz (Blankenship) hit a couple 3s and Fitzwater hit a couple of layups.”
The first quarter was a dream for the veteran coach.
A 13-6 lead for the hosts snowballed with Blankenship, a Wyoming East alum, nailing a 3 and turning a steal into a layup, spurring a 13-0 run that staked the Mountain Lions to a 24-6 lead late in the first quarter. The Battlers trimmed it to 14 at the end of the first quarter but found themselves behind 41-24 heading into the intermission.
Back-to-back 3s to open the second half slashed the deficit to 12 but back-to-back triples from Blankenship, who got the start in place of Ratcliff, helped make it a 51-31 contest, blowing the game open.
“They’ve all got faith in each other,” Osborne said. “Jazz shot the first one and all of sudden you get her the ball and she hit. You get her the ball the next time down the floor and she hit it again. Well then they got spread out more, come running at Jazz and we throw the ball into Fitzwater and that’s a team effort. But no, Jazz has played big for us. I know we were trying to decide do we go big with (Alexis) Phillips and bring Jazz in with Maddie hurt? I said nope, Jazz deserved the opportunity, let’s go with it. Tonight we were focused and it was a team effort. They all believe in each other. They especially believe in Jazz Blankenship when she’s on a roll and get her the ball.”
By the end of the third the Mountain Lions held a 29-point lead, and led by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter.
On top of the win, the night was a special one for guard Maggie Guynn. A 2,000-point scorer during her high school days at Narrows, Guynn became the 20th player in program history to cross the 1,000-point threshold, scoring 12 in the win.
“Well, 1,000 point scorer,” Osborne said. “As a freshman she accepted her role. She was 2,000-point scorer in high school from Narrows. And all of a sudden now she’s got to come in as a freshman and is a sub. She accepted that role great and she would’ve got it last year if the season hadn’t been shortened. When she’s got the ball she’s a threat. Maggie Guynn’s her own worst enemy. If she misses a shot or two she wants to tuck her head so I brought her in and said ‘listen Maggie, if you made every shot you’re not at Concord. You’re not here, so you’re going to miss shots.’ And I know the pressure’s on cause all the number people are doing the countdown and when she finally got it I’m thinking hallelujah, she finally can relax and finish out the game and get ready for Notre Dame.”
Fitzwater led all scorers with 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds and four blocks. Bluefield graduate Jaisah Smith (13), Guynn (12) and Blankenship (14) all joined Fitzwater in scoring in double figures while Allison Dunbar added nine points off the bench. Iyahnna Williams led the Battlers with 17 points while Summers County graduate Hannah Taylor finished with four points.
Concord improves to 5-1 (2-1 , MEC) and will travel to Notre Dame on Saturday.
Scoring – AB: Iyahnna Williams 17, Hannah Taylor 4, Nyshae’ Weaver 6, Emma Pavelek 4, Ariyah Douglas 5, Jaya Nelson 2, Alexis Kuhlman 6, Londaisha Smith 8; CU: Riley Fitzwater 24, Jaisah Smith 13, Maggie Guynn 12, Jazz Blankenship 14, Gracie Robinson 5, Alexis Phillips 4, Ashton Funderburg 2, Allison Dunbar 9, Kyndra Pilant 2, Kacie Shaffner 6
AB: 16 8 13 15 – 52
CU: 30 11 25 25 – 91
3-point goals – AB: 3 (Douglas 1, Kuhlman 2); CU: 8 (Guynn 2, Blankenship 4, Shaffner 2).
