CHICAGO - Appalachian State University women's basketball bounced back from a Friday loss to finish third in the Maggie Dixon Classic grinding out a 72-67 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Joi Jones scored a team-high 15 points (11 in the second half) on five shots and five free throws and a team-best three assists while Q. Murray dropped a career-high 14 points and an impressive five steals. Ashley Bassett-Smith scored a season-high 13 points and five boards on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
It wasn't just that trio that stepped up, as six other student-athletes would score for the Mountaineers. Bayley Plummer added nine points off the bench with six rebounds. Plummer, Jones, and Bassett-Smith combined to go 15-of-18 from the free throw line (rest of the team: 7-of-14).
Madi Story didn't score like she's capable of but did a little bit of everything in other areas with six points, seven boards, and two steals.
Numbers across the board were similar with GWU shooting a slightly better percentage (37.0-36.4) and a tight edge in rebounds, 43-42. But the Apps won the turnover battle forcing GWU into 28 miscues and converting those mistakes into 27 points. Appalachian protected the ball with 18 turnovers, a vast improvement from Friday evening (32 turnovers).
The first quarter was neck-and-neck where both teams exchanged six ties and four lead changes. Appalachian scored 10 of its 14 points off GWU mistakes and came away with four steals. Bassett-Smith provided the scoring with eight points, including the final six with App State trailing, 10-8, to push App State to a 14-12 advantage.
In the second frame, App State and the Runnin' Bulldogs were tied on three different occasions, but GWU couldn't take the lead. With the scored tied 24-all, the Apps scored four six of the next seven points to take a 30-25 lead into the break. Bassett-Smith once again led the spurt with a pair of free throws followed by a layup from Jones and Elizabeth Norregaard draining a deep 3-pointer before the buzzer went off.
Appalachian looked to gain some separation from GWU in the opening of the third quarter when Murray and Story spearheaded a 6-2 spurt that pushed the Apps' lead to nine, 36-27. Appalachian increase the lead to as much as 10 (45-35) thanks to a Jones layup. GWU responded with five quick points before the end of the third period. Huntsman hit a running trey at half court before the sound of the horn.
App State stayed on top of Gardner-Webb throughout the start of the fourth quarter, when it looked like the Apps were about to break the game wide open. Murray scored six points in the first 2:58 of the fourth frame to give Appalachian a nine-point lead, 53-44. App State kept the lead but survived a GWU in the final minutes.
With the Apps leading 63-54 late in the fourth quarter, the Runnin' Bulldogs sliced the lead to one possession, 63-61, with a 7-0 run following a Tierra Huntsman 3-pointer. Appalachian responded with a 5-1 spurt to push the lead to six, 68-62, with 41 seconds left.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shortened the lead to one possession with six seconds left, but Jones came through once again to with a pair of free throws to clinch the Apps' first win of the season.
App State will head on the road to Lynchburg, Va. for a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday, Nov. 17 against Liberty.
For her performance over the weekend against No. 21 DePaul and Gardner-Webb, sophomore guard Q. Murray (Baltimore, Md./George Mason) was named to the Maggie Dixon Classic All-Tournament Team.
Murray led the Apps in scoring (12.5 ppg), field goal percentage (43.5%), steals (2.5) and 3-pointers made with three. After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, Murray played well in her first weekend of eligibility. Murray scored in double figures in both games including a career-high 14 points and five swipes in the 72-67 win over GWU.
Maggie Dixon All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jessica January, DePaul
Ashton Millender, DePaul
Jacqui Grant, DePaul
Imani Johnson, UAB
Miyah Barnes, UAB
Q Murray, Appalachian State
Tierra Huntsman, Gardner-Webb
Quotable:
“I loved the way we bounced back from last night and pulled out a victory, “ said head coach Angel Elderkin. “In some way, whether it was Ashley (Bassett-Smith) giving us offense in the first quarter, or Elizabeth (Norregaard) hitting a 3-pointer at the end of the first half to put us up by five, everyone contributed tonight. They made it a tight game there at the end, but we made the plays down the stretch on both ends to pull it out."
Maggie Dixon Classic
- Murray led the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) while shooting a team-high 43.5 percent from the field and picking up five steals.
- Plummer and Story both led the team averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
- The Mountaineers were aggressive getting to the free throw line with 66 attempts.
- App State forced an average of 24 turnovers per game, including 28 against GWU.
Tip-Ins
- App State scored on 55.4 percent of its possessions.
- Bassett-Smith (15), Plummer (14) and Jones (11) led the team in Player Efficiency Rating.
- Jones finished with a team-best plus-9 in the plus/minus category.
- App State averaged 85.5 possessions over the weekend.
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