BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball continued with its winning ways, as the Mountaineers downed Southern Conference rival College of Charleston Monday evening at the Holmes Center, earning an impressive 70-54 victory. The win completes the season sweep of the Cougars and improves ASU to 17-10 on the 2009-10 campaign and 13-5 in the conference, while CofC drops its second game in a row, falling to 19-10 overall and 13-7 in league action.

It was stout second-half defense coupled with a 15-5 run to open the second period that pushed Appalachian to the exhilarating win.

After leading by just two points at the break, the Black and Gold grabbed a commanding 48-36 advantage with a little under 15 minutes to play. Led by junior Sam Ramirez who drilled two treys during the streak, and six Ashlen Dewart points, ASU had its first double-digit cushion of the contest.

Ramirez had the hot shooting hand in the game, as she scored a career-high 25 points, going 5-12 from behind the arc, hitting all five of ASU's treys along with grabbing four rebounds while dishing out five assists.

Another Dewart layup put the Apps up by 14, but the Cougars would not back down, as Caleigh Cromwell and Ericka Williams each connected on three-pointers to make it a nine-point game at 58-49 with 7:45 remaining.

A final Jade Hughes' trey pulled CofC back within eight points, after Canesha Edwards continued her clutch play, hitting two jumpers, but Hughes' effort was not enough as six final Ramirez free throws down the stretch iced the game for ASU.

Edwards was on fire for Appalachian as well, as she tallied her first double-double of the season, hauling in 11 rebounds and recording 10 points. Fellow guard Chakeitha Weldon was also strong on the boards, tying Edwards for a game-high 11. The 11 rebounds are a career-high for the 5-8 point guard.

The duo combined for 22 of the team's 50 rebounds, as the Apps slammed CofC on the glass, out-rebounding the Cougars 50-33.

The first half was a back and forth battle, with College of Charleston opening the contest on a strong note, as Brooke Kotcella nailed two early treys.

Answering the Cougars' start, Ramirez scored 13 points in the opening 12 minutes of action to give ASU a 24-19 lead. Ramirez' offensive production along with Catherine Williams and Weldon hitting layups put Appalachian on top by seven.

The advantage would soon vanish however, as CofC hit back-to-back three-pointers to knot the game at 31 all with less than a minute until the break.

Coming up big when it counted once again, Edwards drained a jumper with 14 seconds left in the first half, earning ASU the 33-31 lead at intermission.

Holding the Cougars' to a dismal 23 percent shooting from the floor in the second half and just 23 second period points, Appalachian was able to run past College of Charleston and notch its 17th win of the season.

Vying for a second place spot in the SoCon, the Mountaineers play their final home game of the season, as the Apps welcome Wofford to the High Country, Thursday February 25. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center and is senior night for the lone senior on the squad Karina Mill.

Notes: The 17 wins are the most in a season for ASU since the 1995-96 season, going 24-6 overall ... the 13 SoCon wins are the most since the 1995-96 season when ASU went 14-0 in the conference ... the season sweep of the Cougars was ASU's first since the 2000-01 season and fifth of a SoCon opponent... the win was Appalachian's first over College of Charleston in the Holmes Center since the 2006-07 season ... the 6-1 start to the month of February is ASU's best start to the month since the 1995-96 season (ended 8-0 on the month ) ... Appalachian is now just one home win away from tying a school-record eight wins.