WISE – After playing their first three games on the road, the UVA Wise women's basketball team played at home for the first time this season, hosting Concord on the Quillen Court Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Lions took advantage of key Highland Cavalier turnovers, scoring 20 points off them, to pick up the 91-78 win.
Before the game there was a moment of silence for former UVA Wise player
Katlin Burger, who graduated from the college in May and passed away earlier this month. The team has a remembrance book set up at all home games this season for teammates, classmates, and fans to post their memories of Katlin, The book will be given to her family at the end of the season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: Concord 91, UVA Wise 78
Records: UVA Wise (3-1), Concord (3-1)
Location: Wise, Virginia | The Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first quarter saw Concord take an early lead with Olivia Ziolkowski hitting a 3-pointer at 9:10, assisted by Kennedy Scales. UVA Wise responded with
Madison Looney scoring a tip-in at 9:22. Concord's Abbie Smith contributed with a jumper at 8:11, stretching their lead to 5-2.
Jalie Ruehling kept the Cavaliers competitive, scoring a jumper at 7:54 to narrow the gap to 5-4. Concord maintained a slight advantage throughout, with Trinity Henderson's jumper at 0:46 extending their lead to 20-17 by the end of the quarter. The quarter ended with Concord ahead, 20-17, after a defensive rebound by
Alissa Cheek for UVA Wise.
- Cheek opened scoring for the Highland Cavaliers in the second quarter with a 3-pointer, assisted by Looney, to tie the game at 20-20. The teams traded leads throughout the quarter, with Kiley Smich and Smith keeping Concord in contention. Ziolkowski's late surge, including a 3-pointer and a layup, helped the Mountain Lions gain a six-point advantage. Despite
Mia Nienaber's efforts for the Cavs with a basket and a key steal, Concord outscored UVA Wise 26-23 in the quarter to maintain a 46-40 lead at halftime.
- In a competitive third quarter, Concord outscored the Highland Cavaliers 29-22 to extend its lead. Looney scored early for UVA Wise with a jumper at 9:47, assisted by Cheek. Concord's Scales contributed to their lead by adding a layup at 8:05, assisted by Kenyah Stubbs, and later hitting a 3-pointer at 2:27. Despite strong efforts from
Caroline Mullins, who added a jumper and a free throw at 5:06, the Mountain Lions maintained momentum with Smith's late 3-pointer at 0:59, further solidifying their advantage by the quarter's end.
- The fourth quarter saw strong performances from both teams, resulting in a 16-16 tie for the quarter. Smich made an early impact with a 3-pointer at 9:34, while Mullins of UVA Wise responded with a series of successful shots, including a layup at 7:46 and a jumper at 7:22. Concord maintained their lead with contributions from Stubbs, who added two free throws at 8:23, and Alexis Frazee, who scored a fastbreak layup at 5:14. Despite these efforts, the home team was unable to close the gap, ending the game with the Mountain Lions ahead, 91-78.
GETTING WISE
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Madison Looney's former middle school team came out to see her play today, and she gave them a show with a career-high 22 points and eleven rebounds to lead the Cavs in scoring,
- NCAA Division II Player of the Week had a slow first half with two points but exploded in the second half to score 19 for the game to go along with her game-high 15 rebounds (which tied her career high she set last weekend at USC Beaufort). She also had five assists and drew eight CU fouls.
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Alissa Cheek scored thirteen points, had five assists, and four rebounds. She also drew five Concord fouls, three of them charges, with her defense.
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Mia Nienaber came off the bench to score twelve points off of 5-9 shooting from the field.
- Ziolkowski (23 points, six rebounds) and Smith (20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists) were key factors in the CU win.
- Concord scored 20 points off of 17 UVA Wise turnovers, while the Cavs had a 38-36 margin in rebounding.
UP NEXT
UVA Wise will make the trip up I-81 and down U.S. 460 to Lynchburg to face Liberty University in an exhibition matchup next Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. The two schools were once conference rivals back in the VAIAW days in the late 1970s, with UVA Wise holding a 3-1 advantage over the Flames from 1977-81. Because of the differences in Division I and Division II in how games are counted, this game will be an official contest for LU but an exhibition game for UVA Wise. The game will be shown on ESPN+.
