BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (5-14, 3-5 SBC) aims to be the first team in the Sun Belt to knock off an unbeaten Little Rock (10-8, 7-0 SBC) on Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.
Follow the Mountaineers:
Twitter |
Facebook |
Instagram
About the Mountaineers
Last Time Out
The Apps fell to the Trojans of Troy on Monday, 81-74, to close out the weekend at 0-2.
LaPresha Stanley scored all of her career-high 18 points in the second to pace a second-half comeback that saw App use an 18-6 run midway through the third quarter to storm back from an 11-point deficit to take an early 63-62 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Maya Calder had by far the best game of her career where she came off the bench to turn in a career of 15 points and 10 boards for her first double-double. Calder shot 7-of-10 from the floor in 20 minutes of action. Appalachian made just one 3-pointer in the setback, which was a conference low in eight games.
What to Watch for
• The Mountaineers were held to just one 3-pointer in the setback against Troy. App State has yet to make 2 or fewer 3's in consecutive games this season. Expect Appalachian to return to its clip of 8.4 treys per game on Thursday.
• App State has outscored its opponents in league play by a combined 46 points through the first three quarters while being outscored by 40 alone in the fourth quarter. See if the Mountaineers can improve their fourth period play this weekend.
• Stanley is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over the past four contests including a personal-high 18 points against Troy. Watch if the freshman can continue her exceptional play.
• App averaged just 11.5 turnovers over the two games in Alabama after averaging 21 turnovers over the prior four contests. See if the Mountaineers can continue to protect the ball.
• In eight losses this season, opponents are averaging 20.4 free throws per game while just attempting 15.4 free throws in LR's 10 wins. Watch if App can get to the free throw line after attempting a season-high 30 foul shots at Troy.
Scouting Little Rock
• Little Rock is 24-1 over its past 25 Sun Belt regular season games.
• The Trojans won last season's SBC regular season title.
• The Mountaineers and Trojans are facing each other for the first time since the two foes met in the Sun Belt last season.
• LR has one player averaging double figures in Ronjanae DeGray who is turning in 13.6 points per game.
• Her sister, Raeyana, is leading the team in rebounding at 5.4 per game.
• LR leads the Sun Belt allowing just 44.6 points, while it's plus-18.3 scoring margin tops the league.
• Also, the Trojans are also allowing foes to shoot only 34.4 percent overall, and 32.5 percent in Sun Belt play.
• Six of the seven league wins for LR have been by 10 or more points.
• Little Rock performs at the slowest tempo in the Sun Belt with a pace of 64.3.
• The Trojans are third in the league in defensive points per possession allowing .857 per trip on offense.
Series History
• LR is one of two teams (UTA) that the Mountaineers have yet to beat in the Sun Belt.
• Over the past two contests at home against LR, the Apps have fallen by under 10 points in both games.
• Last season at the Holmes Center, the Mountaineers fell by eight points where they outscored the Trojans in the second and fourth quarters.
What's Next
The Mountaineers will end the weekend with a 1 p.m. against Arkansas State on Saturday at the Holmes Centrer.
