BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University women's basketball was able to get contributions from everyone in a convincing 77-51 victory over Coker on Wednesday in the first of two exhibitions in the Holmes Center.
Three student-athletes scored in double figures with Madi Story turning in a game-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field while getting to the line 14 times and converting nine. The junior guard also tallied a game-high five steals and played 31 minutes. Katelyn Doub provided a spark off the bench as she scored 12 points, brought in five boards (four offensive) and shot 4-for-7 from the field in 17 minutes.
In her first game for the Apps, Bayley Plummer didn't disappoint, where she notched a double-double off the bench with 13 points and corralling 10 off the glass. In addition, Mikaya Wilson dished out a game-best four assists along with five points. Ashley Bassett-Smith manned the paint with nine rebounds, three blocks, and four points.
Overall,14 student-athletes played in Wednesday's exhibition while 11 scored. Appalachian dominated the glass outrebounding the Cobras, 51-34, including a 26-12 edge on the offensive end while taking advantage of its second-chance opportunities with 27 points.The Mountaineers showed aggressiveness getting to the free throw line finishing 23-for-39 while Coker went 9-of-19.
Appalachian got off to a strong start in the opening quarter with a 6-0 spurt thanks to a pair of layups from Mia Marshall and Bria Carter in the first 1:39. Coker answered with a 10-4 run to tie the game up at 10-all later in the first period. App State went into the second quarter with an 18-15 lead after Coker's Hires hit a jumper at the buzzer.
The Mountaineers turned it on both ends of the floor in the second quarter outscoring the Cobras, 24-7. With 7:11 left in the frame, the Mountaineers spearheaded an impressive 16-0 run over the next 6:14. Six different student-athletes scored for the Mountaineers, including a spark from Doub who scored five points during the spurt. The defense dug deep to hold the visitors to a 6:35 scoring drought and just three field goals overall. Appalachian's run coupled with the excellent defense led the Apps to a 42-22 margin at the half.
It was all Appalachian in the second half, staying in front of the visitors by more than 20 points and even ballooning the lead to as much as 33 in the fourth quarter, 69-36, with 7:14 left in the game thanks to a Story trifecta from the corner off a Wilson assist.
To dive deeper into the stats, the Mountaineers held Coker to 32.4 percent shooting from the field after the first quarter (46.2 percent in the first period) while five student-athletes (Bassett-Smith, Jones, Story, Carter, Allen) were plus-20 in the plus/minus category. Appalachian scored on 50 percent of its possessions and averaged .963 points per possession.
The bench stepped up as well, outscoring the Cobras' reserves, 35-20. Appalachian took advantage of Coker's 25 miscues and scored 29 points off its turnovers.
App State will return to the court on Monday for its final exhibition against Lenoir-Rhyne at 7 p.m. at the Holmes Center.
