MEC WBB Quarterfinal Preview: #3 Frostburg State vs #6 Concord

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball team is set to travel to Wes Banco Arena for the second consecutive season on Thursday afternoon to face off against six seed Concord.

How They Got Here: Led by MEC Coach of the Year Jenna Eckleberry, the Bobcats come into the game as the three seed in the MEC, finishing 18-10 overall and 14-6 in the conference. They began the year by winning five of their first six Mountain East contests, then after losing three of five, went 9-1 against MEC foes to get within a game of first place. Coming down to the final game against Fairmont State, a loss to the Falcons combined with a West Virginia State win ultimately put Frostburg at the three seed, with WVSU holding the head-to-head tiebreaker for second.

CU ended the regular season 16-12 overall and 11-9 in the MEC, beating out Glenville State for the six seed to avoid the first round and a bye into the quarterfinals. Their conference slate started with two straight wins followed by a pair of losses, then throughout the year used a pair of three-game winning streaks and a victory over GSU in the regular season finale to finish over .500 in the Mountain East.

The Matchup: The Mountain Lions own the all-time series by a game, winning five to FSU's four, though the Bobcats earned a pair of close victories for the season sweep this year.

The Players: Frostburg boasts the MEC Player of the Year in sophomore Emilee Weakley, who leads all of Division II in scoring at 25.4 points per game, is tied for the team lead in steals at 35, and is the second-leading rebounder at 7.0 per game. Joining her on offense is Second Team All-MEC selection graduate Maggie Sharp (11.9 ppg), the league leader in three-point percentage (38.6%) while hitting 80 triples throughout the year, setting a new program record. Honorable Mention All-MEC freshman Jenna Muha is also in double figures at 10.8 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game. Defensively, freshman Grace Middleton tied Weakley with 35 steals on the year, while also dishing out the second-most assists (52) behind classmate Alanna Tate (81) and junior Jasmine Johnson finished top-10 in the conference with 27 blocks on the year.

Concord also features a pair of All-Conference players in First Team honoree Jaisah Smith, the team's top scorer (15.2 ppg) and Second Team selection Abbie Smith (14.3 ppg), who is second in the conference in rebounding (8.5). Skylar Davidson is a key playmaker for CU, placing second in the MEC in assists (127) and assists per game (4.5), while also recording a team-high 75 steals. Also defensively, Alexis Phillips was fourth in the conference in blocks (30) and Nakaila Gray finished just behind Davidson with 71 steals.

Wednesday, March 6 – MEC First Round
#7 Glenville State vs #10 Notre Dame – 12 p.m.
#8 West Liberty vs #9 West Virginia Wesleyan – 2:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 7 – MEC Quarterfinals
#2 West Virginia State vs #7/10 winner – 12 p.m.
#3 Frostburg vs #6 Concord – 2:30 p.m.
#1 Fairmont State vs #8/9 winner – 6 p.m.
#4 Charleston vs #5 Wheeling – 8:30 p.m.