CHARLESTON, S.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball used a late second-half rally and strong overtime play to knock off the number two team in the conference, College of Charleston Monday evening in the Carolina First Arena. The win marked the Mountaineers' first victory in the Holy City since 2001 and first on the Cougars' John Kresse Court. With the victory ASU also improves to an even 9-9 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon, matching the overall number of wins from a season ago, while CofC drops to 12-6 on the season and 7-3 in league action.
Facing a 14-point deficit with 9:51 to play, the Mountaineers proceeded to go on a 20-6 streak that the Cougars had no answer for. Freshman Anna Freeman provided the spark for the Black and Gold, as she poured in eight points during the run, while Catherine Williams was able to come up big as well, chipping in seven.
Williams ended the game with 10 points and eight boards, with five of her rebounds coming on the offensive glass.
Seven-straight Mountaineer points gave Appalachian a two-point lead, its first of the contest with 1:30 remaining. Unfortunately, a veteran Cougar squad was able to finish when it counted as Jade Hughes connected on a jumper to knot the game at 59 all and send it into an extra period. Anna Freeman yet again provided the intangible factor, grabbing two clutch rebounds off of missed Cougar shots by Hughes and Erika Williams.
A low-scoring overtime, NeShonda McLaurin got CofC on the board first making it a 61-59 game. Fortunately, Anna Freeman continued to be unstoppable, scoring a layup and drilling a three-pointer to give ASU a five-point cushion at 64-61 with 52 seconds to go.
Anna Freeman, filled out the stat sheet with her strong play, totaling a team-high 18 points and 11 boards, while also recording three blocks, two assists and two steals.
McLaurin cut Appalachian's lead to just one point with under 15 seconds on the clock, but two final free throws by Canesha Edwards and a monster block by Anna Freeman on a Hughes three-point attempt as time expired, gave the Black and Gold the exhilirating win.
Four early three-pointers in the first half, coupled by a 10-0 College of Charleston run paced by Brooke Kotcella earned CofC the commanding 25-14 cushion. However, back-to-back Mountaineer buckets by Anna Freeman and Courtney Freeman pulled Appalachian back within six points at 25-19.
Unable to take advantage of a 10 minute field goal drought to close out the first half by College of Charleston, a final Edwards jumper put ASU down 28-21 at intermission.
The outcome appeared to be grim, with CofC holding a double-digit lead as the clock ticked to under ten minutes to play, but the Black and Gold rallied a comeback and pushed the game into overtime.
Strong conditiong and impressive play by the Apps, anchored by Anna Freeman, let ASU prevail and hand the Cougars' their first loss at home in 15 games.
Now on a two-game winning streak, ASU takes a four-day break, before returning to action to host another strong conference opponent in Davidson. The contest is set for Saturday January 23, at 1 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Notes: The win snaps a 15-game home winning streak for the Cougars', the 12th longest in the country ... gives College of Charleston its first loss on its home floor since January of 2009 ... ASU remains undefeated in the SoCon on the road, moving to 4-0 .... ASU earns its first win over College of Charleston since (2007) ... the Mountaineers capture their first-ever win in the Carolina First Arena and first victory in Charleston, S.C. since 2001 ...
Darcie Vincent coached teams move to 1-2 against the Cougars ... ASU improves to a spotless 2-0 in OT games this season.
