JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Sad? Means matched a career high with 17 points and the Mountaineers erased a 13-point second-half deficit, but came away empty as East Tennessee State escaped with a 72-68 win over Appalachian State University women's basketball on Wednesday.
Means connected on 10-of-17 field goal attempts in the game in 34 minutes off the bench and added six steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Mountaineers got off to a shaky start with turnovers in each of the teams first four possessions of the game, including three in the first minute. After the offense settled down, Means sank three of her first four shots for seven points and ASU climbed out of a six-point hole to take a 17-16 lead eight minutes into the game.
ETSU battled back to a 22-17 lead, but four-straight points from Karina Mill and a Brittney Spencer turnaround jumper put the Mountaineers back in front at 25-24 with four minutes to play in the half.
Mill ended the night with a career-best eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in eight minutes and added a pair of rebounds. Spencer scored 10 points in the game with six rebounds and four steals.
The teams traded the lead 10 times in the first 20 minutes, which ended with a buzzer-beating layup for East Tennessee's TaRonda Wiles, which gave her 14 points in the half. The bucket gave the Lady Bucs took a 30-29 lead at the intermission. Wiles was kept relatively quiet in the second half and closed out the night with 16 points.
After Catherine Williams' seven-block performance in Monday's win, senior Brittany Mixon took the defensive lead in the paint and blocked five shots in the first half and six of ASU's eight in the game.
Williams contributed six points and seven boards to go along with one blocked shot. Mixon carried her momentum from Monday's 14-point performance and sank 8-of-9 free throws to score a season-high 15 points.
Appalachian (1-4) shot just 38 percent from the floor in the first half but made 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and held ETSU to 32 percent field goal percentage in the first 20 minutes. The Apps rebounded with a 62-percent mark in the second half to finish the game at a season-best 49 percent. ASU converted 13-of-18 free throws, while ETSU benefitted from a generous 17-to-24 foul ratio to sink 26 out of 34 free throws.
The Lady Bucs (1-3) opened the second half with a fury, scoring 14 of the first 16 points in the period to open a 13-point lead before Means scored eight points in 54 seconds to single-handedly pull the Apps back into the game. The freshman picked two steals, sank three field goals and knocked in a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 46-43 with 13:20 remaining in regulation.
The Apps regained the lead at 49-48 as Spencer finished a fast break with a layup from Sam Ramirez at the 10:37 mark. ETSU regained a pair of four-point leads in the ensuing minutes, but as the clock struck the four-minute mark Mixon sank her first three-point shot of the season to cut the lead to 65-64. Ramirez led the team with seven assists and added four points and four rebounds to go with three steals.
The next three points belonged to the Lady Bucs via the free-throw line as the clock dipped below one minute. Mixon pulled ASU back within two points with 24 seconds remaining, but the Apps were unable to close the gap any further in the waning seconds.
ETSU did not record a field goal in the final four minutes of the game, but scored its final nine points at the charity stripe to seal the 72-68 win. The Lady Bucs ended the night with a 41-37 advantage on the boards, including 22 on the offensive end.
Freshman forward Haley Hackett suffered an ankle injury within a minute of entering the game and was unable to return.
The Mountaineers open Southern Conference play on Monday at Georgia Southern. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Statesboro.
