BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball rallied from a two-point halftime deficit and won its 13th straight home game Wednesday evening, as the Apps notched a 78-62 win over College of Charleston. ASU (9-3, 3-1 SoCon) is now on a three-game winning streak and has defeated CofC (4-10, 1-4 SoCon) in the two squads' past four meetings.
Suffering a 37-35 deficit at the break, the Black and Gold posted a 13-4 spurt in the opening minutes of second-half play to take the lead and never looked back.
After Cathryn Hardy connected on two free throws to begin the second period, the Apps answered with ten straight points to grab a six-point advantage.
The scoring came from all over from Appalachian as Sam Ramirez, Anna Freeman, Courtney Freeman and Ashlen Dewart all contributed on the offensive front.
Continuing to click on all cylinders, Appalachian extended its lead to ten-points off a Kelsey Sharkey layup, making the scoring 58-48 in the Mountaineers' favor.
Despite some late buckets by College of Charleston, ASU never led by less than ten points and final jumpers by Canesha Edwards pushed Appalachian to the 16-point win.
The impressive second-half by the Apps proved to be the difference-maker in the contest, as ASU outscored its counterpart 43-25.
The stingy Mountaineer defense also stepped up in second half action, holding CofC to a dismal 20.6 field goal percentage, and not allowing the Cougars to connect on a single three-pointer.
Sluggish and un-energetic play to start the game saw the Mountaineers fall behind by as many as nine-points, facing a 16-7 deficit just seven minutes into the game.
Dewart and Ramirez stepped up however, and a Ramirez trey put Appalachian on top for the first time, taking a narrow 24-22 advantage with a little under eight minutes remaining until halftime.
The Cougars would not go away quietly, going on a 5-0 run in the waning minutes of first half play to lead by five, but fortunately for the Mountaineers, Ramirez drilled yet another trey and ASU went into the half down just two.
Appalachian picked up its pace in the second half and defensive domination coupled with offensive execution enabled the Apps to earn their third conference win of the season.
Four Mountaineers ended the game in double-figures with Dewart scoring a game-best 19 points. Tallying her third double-double of the season, the Spartanburg, S.C. native also hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds.
In addition to Dewart, Ramirez chipped in 17 points, Anna Freeman 15 and Edwards scored 14.
ASU now takes to the road, as the Black and Gold head to Spartanburg, S.C. to battle conference competitor Wofford. The contest between the Mountaineers and Terriers is slated to begin at 2 p.m., Saturday, January 8, from Wofford's Benjamin Johnson Arena.
