West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team is set for a second consecutive game away from home as they travel to Concord for a Wednesday evening match-up. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Lions are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Carter Center in a battle of teams tied for fourth place in the league standings.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Athens, W.Va. (Carter Center)
• Tip-Off: 5:30 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 6-8 (4-3 MEC) on the season following an 89-72 loss at No. 9 Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon.
• The Hilltoppers are currently tied for fourth place in the league standings with Glenville State, West Virginia State, and Concord.
• Through 14 games, WLU is averaging 73.5 points, 34.9 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 8.0 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 39.0 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from 3-point range, and 66.1 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking second in 3-pointers per game (10.7), fourth in 3-point attempts per game (30.8), and 12^th  in assists per game (17.1)
• The Hilltoppers are led by four players who are averaging double figures as Corinne Thomas ranks third in the MEC and averages 18.4 points while Karly McCutcheon ranks ninth in the league with 13.5 points per game. Bailee Smith and Jenna Riccardo add scoring averages of 11.2 and 10.0.
• Thomas now has seven games of 20 or more points this season while McCutcheon has added three. As McCutcheon scored 23 points and Thomas added 20 at Fairmont State, they became the first duo to score 20 or more points in the same game this season.
• The duo of Thomas and McCutcheon are two of the top shooters from beyond the arc in DII. Thomas is first nationally with 3.57 3-pointers per game and is sixth with 50 total 3-pointers, while McCutcheon is 20^th with 2.71 3-pointers per game and is 26^th with 38 total 3-pointers. Thomas is 50-of-135 for 37.0 percent and McCutcheon is 38-of-112 for 33.9 percent from deep.
• The Hilltoppers have recorded double digit 3-point field goal totals in ten of their 14 games this season, including 13 or more made from beyond the arc in five contests. McCutcheon and Thomas have each connected on a season-high six 3-pointers once this year.
• Riccardo averages a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game and has secured five or more boards on nine occasions, including a season-high of ten in last Wednesday's win over Frostburg State. She ranks eighth in the MEC with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.
• With a 20 point and ten rebound performance against Fairmont State, Thomas has a pair of double-doubles to lead the Hilltoppers. McCutcheon and Riccardo have each added one double-double in 2023-24.
• Thomas, Smith, and Bailey Beckstedt have been the facilitators of the Hilltopper offense. Thomas leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with 3.8 assists per game and 53 total assists, while Smith ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 3.6 assists per game and 50 total assists. Beckstedt rounds out the group with an assists per game average of 3.1 that ranks ninth in the conference and a total assist mark of 44 that is eighth. As they both dished out five assists against the Falcons on Saturday, Smith and Thomas have each recorded four or more assists on seven occasions while Beckstedt has five times.
• Defensively, Thomas ranks seventh in the league with 31 total steals and is ninth with an average of 2.21 steals per game. She has tallied ten multi-steal games on the year and notched a season-high of four on four different occasions.
• At the basket, McCutcheon has averaged a team-high 0.8 blocks per game which ranks seventh in the MEC and is seventh in the league with 11 total blocked shots. After Saturday's game against Fairmont State she has now posted a season-high of three blocks in two games this year.
• Kyle Cooper is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 98-81 with the Hilltoppers.

CONCORD STORYLINES

• Concord enters Wednesday's game with a record of 7-6 (4-3 MEC) on the season following an 81-62 win over Davis & Elkins on Saturday afternoon for their third win in the last four games.
• The Mountain Lions are currently tied for fourth in the league standings with Glenville State, West Virginia State, and West Liberty.
• Through 13 games CU is averaging 71.7 points, 42.0 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 12.7 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting the ball 38.5 percent from the field, 26.9 percent from 3-point range, and 70.0 percent from the free throw line.
• Concord ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking eighth in offensive rebounds per game (17.0), 11^th in free throw attempts per game (23.31), 13^th in free throws made per game (16.31), and 19^th in steals per game (12.7).
• The Mountain Lions are led by a pair of players who average double figures in scoring with Jaisah Smith and Abbie Smith averaging 14.8 and 13.3 points per game respectively while ranking sixth and tenth in MEC.
• Jaisah Smith has a pair of games with 20 or more points this season while Ana Young has one.
• Nakaila Gray is the top 3-point shooter for CU and the lone player to make double digit shots from beyond the arc, shooting 15-of-35 for 42.9 percent.
• Jaisah Smith holds the seventh best shooting percentage from the charity stripe in the league, shooting 51-of-70 for 72.9 percent.
• Abbie Smith is one of the top rebounders in the conference, ranking third in the MEC with 8.2 rebounds in the game and leads the conference with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game. Joining her among the league leaders is Alexis Phillips who is ninth with 6.9 boards per game.
• Abbie Smith has secured double digit rebounds in six games, including a season-high of 17 against Salem, which has led to conference leading six double-doubles.  Jaisah Smith has notched a pair double-doubles while Skylar Davidson and Phillips have each added one double-double.
• Davidson is the facilitator of the Mountain Lion offense, ranking second in the conference in both assists per game (4.7) and total assists (61). She has dished out four or more assists on eight occasions this season, including a season-high of eight three times.
• Defensively, Davidson and Jaisah Smith both rank in the top-10 of the league leaders in steals. Davidson is third in the conference with 2.92 steals per game and fourth with 38 total steals while Smith is sixth in the conference with 2.38 steals per game and seventh with 31 total steals. Davidson has posted nine multi-steals games in 2023-24 while Smith has in eight games. They have each posted a season-high of six steals.
• Phillips is the rim protector for the Mountain Lions, ranking third in the MEC with 1.08 blocks per game and fourth with 14 total blocked shots. She has posted four games of two or more blocked shots, including a season-high of four against Seton Hill.
• Tesla Southcott is in her second season as the head coach at Concord with a career record of 21-23 during her time with the Mountain Lions.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty leads the all-time series 38-22.
• The Hilltoppers won their second consecutive game against the Mountain Lions and swept the season series with an 87-70 win on February 11, 2023, in the ASRC.
• Karly McCutcheon scored a team-high 18 points in the win on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and three 3-pointers, while also adding five rebounds and five assists. Grace Faulk added 14 points with four 3-pointers and added four rebounds and four assists.