BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- A strong defensive effort and second half push boosted the West Virginia Wesleyan (4-10) women's basketball team to a 67-56 victory over Concord (8-6) at the Rockefeller Center on Wednesday (Feb. 24).
 
"Our defense was great," head coach Vicky Bullett said. "I think both teams looked fatigued in the beginning. Concord did not get too many threes tonight and that helped us pull out the win."
 
The victory helped Wesleyan secure a spot in the Mountain East Conference Tournament. Details on seeding and brackets will be released on Saturday (Feb. 27) evening.
 
Leaders for WVWC
Courtney Wilfong matched her season-high of 19 points to lead the Bobcats in scoring. Wilfong also hauled in eight rebounds. Brittany Stawovy scored 13 points and distributed four assists. 
 
Symphonie Bryant-Brown tallied 12 points and snagged five rebounds. On her birthday, Abi Gabauer scored 11 points and swiped three steals. 
 
Malaike Kimmons recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. 
 
"I used my physicality to my advantage and didn't try to do anything that I couldn't do," Kimmons said. "I'm going to do whatever I can to help my team win."
 
Leaders for Concord
Riley Fitzwater scored 22 points and collected nine rebounds. Maggie Guynn added 11 points for the Mountain Lions. 
 
Team Stats
Wesleyan outscored Concord by a 40-20 margin in the second half. The Bobcats scored 19 second chance points. 
 
Inside the First Half
Concord controlled the lead in the opening quarter. In the waning moments of the first quarter, Bryant-Brown stole the ball and converted a layup on the other end as Wesleyan trailed 20-17 after one. 
 
The Mountain Lions led by 11 points (34-23) after a Guynn jumper with 2:37 left in the second quarter. The visitors commanded a 36-27 advantage at halftime. 
 
Inside the Second Half
The deficit was 41-30 with 7:54 remaining in the third quarter when the Bobcats got to work. Wesleyan grabbed the lead (43-31) with 1:51 to go in the third after Wilfong's shot in the paint fell down to cap off a 13-0 run.
 
WVWC outscored Concored 16-7 in the third frame as the score was knotted up 43-43 heading into the fourth quarter. 
 
Gabauer drilled a mid-range jumper at the 8:28 mark of the final quarter as the Bobcats were ahead, 48-45. The home team battled to stay in front as the contest neared the final stretch. Stawovy nailed a jump shot to put Wesleyan up 58-54 with 2:19 to go in regulation. 
 
The exclamation point on the victory came when Kimmons tossed up a wild shot that went down while she was fouled with only 35 seconds left. The Bobcats pulled away to take the 67-56 decision at home. 
 
"We just needed to pick up our intensity," Wilfong said. "We all wanted the win bad. We should take the momentum but have our minds focused to win on Saturday."
 
Up Next
WVWC women's basketball is scheduled to play host to Davis & Elkins on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.