BOONE, N.C. - Mia Marshall captured her first-career double-double and Appalachian State University women's basketball held ETSU to a season-low 28.1 percent shooting from the floor as the Mountaineers defeated the Buccaneers 70-52 on Thursday night at the Holmes Center.
App State Starters: #02 Farrahn Wood,#10 Joi Jones, #23 KeKe Cooper, #34 Madi Story, #42 Mia Marshall
ETSU Starters: #02 Shamauria Bridges, #03 Adrian Vaughan, #10 Chandler Christopher, #24 Shomari Kendrick, #30 Sadasia Tipps
“Tonight was a great team win,” said head coach Angel Elderkin. “I am really proud of our team's progress. We have committed to defense and rebounding and it was evident tonight.”
Jones scored in double figures for the second time in three games with 16 points on six buckets while dishing out three assists and tying a career high with seven boards.
Marshall notched career highs in points (11), rebounds (12) and blocks (five) to go with an efficient 5-for-6 performance from the field. Cooper had herself an all-around game with 10 points, eight boards (three offensive) and a pair of swats.
In addition, nine of 10 players who got into the game scored while seven players scored at least five points. Bria Carter came off the bench for seven points, five boards and three assists. Katelyn Doub, Ashley Bassett-Smith and Kaila Craven all chipped in with six points off the bench as well.
For the third straight game to start the season, the Apps' reserves have scored at least 25 points.
Appalachian dominated down low outscoring the Bucs, 36-12 inside the paint and held a 49-30 advantage on the boards.
Not only did the Apps dominate inside, the Apps suffocated ETSU into 21 turnovers and forced two of its three leading scorers (Shamauria Bridges and Chandler Christopher) to shoot a combined 9-for-31 from the field for 33 points and nine miscues.
The Apps shot out of their slump shooting a season-high 43.1 percent from the field, including a first half performance of 14-for-29 (48.3 percent) from the floor. Appalachian also shot 21-for-41 (51.2 percent) from inside the arc.
With the first quarter tied, 6-6, the Black and Gold outscored the Bucs,13-6,over the final 6:24 where five different players scored. App State held ETSU to a 4:14 scoring drought at one point and 2-for-9 from the field during the rest of the opening quarter.
From that point on, Appalachian was clicking on all cylinders capturing a double-digit lead through the rest of the contest, stretching the advantage to as much as 18, 32-14, with 3:31 left in the second quarter. The Mountaineers held ETSU to just 10 points in the second stanza going into the locker room with a score of 38-22.
The duo of Marshall and Jones combined to shoot 9-for-13 for 20 of the team's points going into the break.
Appalachian didn't let up in the second half never allowing the lead to dip below 14 while increasing the margin to as much as 22, 51-29, in the third quarter after Bassett-Smith nailed two from the charity stripe.
Until the final horn went off, the Apps cruised to their first victory of the season, giving them confidence and momentum going into next week's Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament against three formidable opponents.
App State will start the tournament on Friday, Nov. 27 against South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. The winners will play on the following day at 2:30 p.m. while the consolation game will take place at 12:00 p.m.
Notes
- The Apps won for the sixth time in the past seven meetings against the Bucs, with four of those victories coming by more than 15 points.
- Appalachian's 18-point victory is the largest over a non-conference division I one opponent since an 83-60 victory over Radford (12/16/13).
- After Cooper's 10-point, eight-rebound performance, she is now averaging nine points and 7.3 rebounds over the past three contest against ETSU.
- Marshall's double-double led to a game-best 27 player-efficiency rating, while Jones (14), Cooper (13) and Carter rounded out the leaders with 11.
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