BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (3-3) stormed a furious comeback in the second half but fell short, 65-62, to College of Charleston (2-3) Sunday afternoon in the home opener at the Holmes Center.
Appalachian faced a slow start and a 22-point deficit in the first half, but outscored the Cougars, 42-28, in the second to cut the deficit down to just one on a few occasions in the fourth quarter but could never overtake the visitors. With the Apps trailing 63-62, CofC's Shiclasia Brown would hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three points with 10 seconds on the clock.
Joi Jones, coming off her buzzer-beating 3-pointer on Wednesday at ETSU, looked to make more magic happen. With four seconds left, she hoisted a shot from beyond the arc at the top of the key and narrowly missed, leading to the Cougars' second win of the season.
Jones scored a career-high 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting from the field along with six boards. The senior guard again performed very well in the second half scoring 22 points on a 75 percent (9-for-12) performance from the floor.
Bria Carter was the other Mountaineer in double figures with a season-high 14 points and an impressive performance on the boards with a personal-best 14 off the glass for her third double-double of her career and the first of the season.
Jones and Carter scored 43 of App State's 62 points and shot 50 percent from the floor.
If it wasn't for a slow start and 18-missed free throws (23-41), the Apps could be talking about a 4-2 start to the season. The Apps' 41 free throw attempts is a season high while it's the fifth time in six games Appalachian has attempted 30 or more foul shots.
The Cougars came out of the gate with a 13-1 lead in the first 4:23 of the game, holding the Apps to 0-for-5 shooting from the field and four turnovers. App State wouldn't find its first field goal until the 3:16 mark of the opening frame thanks to Ashley Bassett-Smith. CofC held App to 30.8 percent shooting from the floor and six turnovers en route to a 21-8 cushion.
CofC stayed in front during the second quarter and ballooned its lead to 22, 34-12, with 4:16 to go in the half. App State found some momentum ending the frame on an 8-3 run. Carter and Jones scored all eight points during the run to help dwindle the lead down to 17, 37-20.
It was a different App State team in the third quarter as a 13-0 run while trailing 41-20 brought the Black and Gold back to within single digits, 41-33. Appalachian held CofC to a 3:47 scoring drought, forced five turnovers and missed all three shots it attempted. The Apps showed aggressiveness, especially getting to the boards as they hustled for six offensive rebounds including five after a missed foul shot.
Appalachian continued to claw its way back the rest of the quarter, closing the gap to seven (52-45) going into the final period. The Mountaineers dominated the Cougars, 25-15, in the frame while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and holding CofC to 36.4 percent. Appalachian forced seven CofC turnovers into 14 points and held a 14-8 advantage in the paint and grabbed six offensive boards.
In the fourth quarter, Appalachian went on another run that covered seven points in 4:29 to bring the hosts to its close margin since the first quarter at one, 51-52. App State scored its first six points from the charity stripe thanks to four different Mountaineers.
After Breanna Bolden and Tanisha Brown scored five of the next seven points to put the Cougars up by four, 57-53, Madi Story scored three-straight points to close the gap to one, 57-56. CofC responded with a 6-0 spurt over the next 2:26 to stretch the advantage to six, 63-57 before Appalachian would come back and get a chance to tie in the closing seconds.
Bolden scored 18 points but had to work for it shooting 6-for-17 from the field. Tanisha Brown recorded a double-double for the Cougars with 17 points and 10 boards.
App State grabbed a season-high 19 offensive rebounds for 19-second chance points, which was also a season-best. Appalachian turned 19 CofC turnovers into season-high 27 points off the miscues.
App State will look to bounce back against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday at 12 p.m. for the annual Education Day contest in the Holmes Center.
Tip-Ins
- Jones is the first player since Maryah Sydnor in 2013-14 to score 15 or more points in five-straight games.
- Jones is also the first player since Maryah Sydnor in 2014-15 to score 20 or more points in two-straight games.
- Carter is the first Mountaineer this season to record at least 10 boards.
- Bassett-Smith is just two blocks away from 100-career swats.
- Jones was a team-best plus-7 in 35 minutes.
- Story played a game-high 38 minutes, the fourth time in the past five games she's played 35 or more minutes.
