BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (7-20, 5-11 SBC) aims to spoil Little Rock's (17-9, 14-1 SBC) chance for a Sun Belt regular-season title on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ET) in the Jack Stephens Center.
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ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS
Last Time Out
App State suffered a 69-52 setback to Arkansas State on Thursday evening in Jonesboro. The Apps fell down by as many as 18 in the first half but made a number of runs to cut the gap to single digits. However, the Red Wolves responded to those runs to pull away for the win.
LaPresha Stanley scored a game-high 20 points, which gave the freshman back-to-back 20-point performances on the road.
Tierra Wilson chipped in with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
What to Watch For
• LR outscored App State by 14 in the first quarter before the Mountaineers won the next three quarters, 32-30, in the first matchup. See if App can get off to a better start on Saturday.
• In the last six road contests, Stanley is averaging 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 41 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from deep and 83 percent from the charity stripe. The freshman is the first players since Maryah Sydnor in 2015-16 to score 20-plus points in back-to-back road games.
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Bayley Plummer is averaging 13.0 points and 7.5 rebounds over the past two games. Plummer is also shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line. The sophomore pulled down just four rebounds in the setback to Arkansas State. She has yet to post single-digit rebounding efforts in back-to-back games. Expect Plummer to get back to her rebounding ways.
• Since attempting just six free throws against Little Rock in the first matchup, the Black and Gold have averaged 19.7 foul shots in seven games. Watch if App can get to the free throw line. In LR's lone SBC loss, the Trojans went 15-for-20 at the line.
• Ronjanae DeGray (18 points) and Tori Lasker (14 pts) combined for 32 of Little Rock's points in the first contest while shooting 13-of-27 from the floor (rest of team: 7-of-27). See if App can contain the duo on Saturday.
SCOUTING LITTLE ROCK
• The Trojans are coming off a 53-44 win over Coastal Carolina on Thursday.
• LR is 14-1 in conference play and is on its way to a second straight regular season title.
• The Trojans' lone Sun Belt loss came in a 76-70 overtime setback to Troy.
• LR is 11-3 at home this season and 8-0 in conference action at the Jack Stephens Center.
• Saturday's opponent has the top defense in the league, as it's first in points allowed (47.5), field goal percentage defense (34.8%) and second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.3%).
• Also, the Trojans are first in field goal percentage shooting 44.8 percent.
• Ronjanae DeGray leads the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game and shooting 51.4 percent.
• Ronjanae's 5.4 rebounding clip is first on the team as well.
• Monique Townson is dishing out an average of 4.1 assists per game.
SERIES HISTORY
• App State has yet to beat LR since joining the league.
• The Mountaineers fell to the Trojans in the first matchup by 12.
• LR got off to a 22-8 start after the first quarter but was outscore 32-30 in the final three frames.
What's Next
App State will close out the regular season against Coastal Carolina next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Holmes Center for Senior Day.
