BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University (2-12, 1-5) women's basketball was up by six points at half time and as many as nine during the contest but was unable to hold onto its lead and stave off a second half surge by College of Charleston (9-5, 3-4), falling to the Cougars 64-53.
Brittany Mixon got the scoring underway for the Black and Gold hitting a jumper to give ASU the early 2-0 lead. The Cougars responded as Sarah Moye nailed a jumper of her own to tie the game at 2 apiece. Mixon finished the afternoon with ten points and six rebounds.
The Mountaineers would then jump out to a 6-2 advantage off of two made Mixon free throws and a Sam Ramirez floater in the lane, but Jade Hughes was able to cut CofC's deficit to just two, nailing two back to back three pointers.
A steal by Canesha Edwards and the ensuing layup made the score 14-12 in ASU's favor at the 12:35 mark. Edwards ended the game with 11 rebounds and eight points to go along with two assists and three steals.
ASU would continue its offensive aggression, going on a little over three minute run, with Catherine Williams draining two free throws, and Charmene Means hitting two layups to push the score to 23 to 16. The App's largest lead came with three minutes to play before the break, going up 27 to 18. Appalachian was able to keep its momentum as Ramirez hit two free throws with 5 seconds to go to put ASU up 31 to 24 at intermission.
The seven point lead at the half was just the third time all season ASU had taken a lead heading into break.
The Cougars came out strong in the second and were able to cut the deficit to just one at 17:16 as Deidra Jones scored a layup, making the score the closest since the opening minutes of play. Ramirez would continue her hot shooting hand draining a trey to put ASU back up by four. The sophomore guard closed out the contest with a career-high 23 points, and tying a season-high four steals, turning the ball over zero times.
Jones was CofC's leading scorer, recording a career-high 20 points, and hauling in four rebounds.
An Appalachian scoring drought hindered the Apps as CofC went on a little over 4 and a half minute, 8-0 run to earn their first lead of the game at 45-38.
The Black and Gold tried to regain their momentum cutting Charleston's advantage to just three as Ramirez drained another trey, with a little under seven minutes to play, to go 5-9 on the afternoon from behind the arc.
The three points would be the smallest deficit for Appalachian, as the Mountaineers were unable to sink a bucket the from the 4:48 mark, until 42 seconds remained in the game. During that time, the Cougars were able to capitalize, going on a 6-0 run to push the score to 62-48.
ASU would score four more points over the final seconds of play, but it wasn't enough as the College of Charleston took home the win.
Despite tying a season-low in turnovers with just 15 and shooting a gaudy 100 percent at the charity stripe, poor shooting hurt the Apps, shooting just 29 percent in the contest, while the Cougars shot 44 percent.
It was the first time since February 5, 2000 that the Black and Gold has gone perfect at the free throw line.
The Mountaineers return to action Monday January 12, in the final game of their two-game homestand as they take on UNC Greensboro at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
