BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball opened up Southern Conference play in style as the Mountaineers pushed their home winning streak to 10 games and downed SoCon foe Elon 100-67 Monday evening at the Holmes Center. The win improves ASU to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 to start league play, winning its conference-opening game for the first time since the 2006-07 season and drops the Phoenix to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
After trailing in the early minutes of the first half, it was a 13-1 Appalachian streak that broke open the game and ASU never looked back, jumping on top 15-6.
Back-to-back Anna Freeman three-pointers extended the Apps advantage, making the score 25-10 in their favor and the rout of their SoCon rival was on.
Anna Freeman finished the contest with a career-high 26 points, going 10-13 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc, along with hauling in six rebounds. Continuing to clutter the stat line, the sophomore also dished out three assists, swatted three shots and recorded three steals.
Courtney Freeman, Canesha Edwards and Sam Ramirez were all on fire offensively as well and enabled Appalachian to take the commanding 49-25 lead heading into the break.
All three capped off the night with double-figures in the scoring column, as Courtney Freeman tied a career-best with 20 points, Ramirez chipped in 19, and Edwards tallied her first double-double of the season grabbing a game-best 12 rebounds and scoring a season-best 17 points.
Second half play wasn't much kinder to Elon, as a jumper and layup by Ramirez kept the score lopsided, making it 64-33 with the Black and Gold leading just five minutes into the second period.
The Phoenix tried to make it interesting posting a 12-2 run, cutting their deficit to 22 points, down 79-57 with a little over seven minutes remaining.
Elon's late effort however was not enough as seven straight points by Edwards dashed any Elon hopes of a comeback, and Appalachian cruised to the 33-point win.
Lei Lei Hairston led Elon during the run, with four points, and she finished as Elon's leading scoring, totaling 19.
Impressive both offensively and defensively once again, ASU posted 100 points in a regular-season contest for the first time since 1996, while shooting above 50 percent for the fifth time this season.
Defensively, Appalachian limited its opponent to a 38.7 percent field goal percentage, while out-rebounding the Phoenix by nine.
The Apps return to non-conference play and close out their three-game homestand as they welcome UNC Asheville to the High Country, Thursday, December 2. The contest between the Mountaineers and Bulldogs is set to start at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
NOTES: ASU has now won three-straight against Elon ... the win marks the first time Appalachian won its conference-opening game since the 2006-07 season when it defeated Elon 63-52 on December 16, 2006 ... the Apps are on a 10-game home winning streak ... ASU closed out the month of November with a 5-1 mark, the most wins in the month dating back to the 1981-82 season ... the last time ASU scored 100 plus points was on February 22, 1996 when it defeated Georgia Southern 102-94 ... it is just the 17th time in program history dating back to the 1970-71 season that ASU scored 100 points in a regular-season game.
