ATLANTA - Appalachian State University (4-5) women's basketball couldn't overcome a 3-point barrage by Georgia Tech in an 81-52 defeat on Sunday evening in McCamish Pavilion.
Madi Story drained a career-high three 3-pointers en route to an App State-best 14 points. Joi Jones scored 11 points while Bria Carter notched 10 points and tied a team-best with eight boards. Ashley Bassett-Smith also brought down eight boards.
Bassett-Smith recorded two blocks as well, giving the senior 103 for her career and moving into sixth place all-time. The forward is five blocks away from passing Brittany Mixon (2005-09) for fifth in school history.
The Yellow Jackets (9-1) shot 51.9 percent from the beyond the arc after failing to shoot above 40 percent in any game this season. GT hit seven of its eight first half 3-pointers and 14 overall in the first quarter to run out to a 21-8 lead and never looked back.
Appalachian did cut the lead to 14 (31-17) in the second quarter after falling down by 21 thanks to a 9-2 run engineered by Jones and Story. The duo scored seven of the nine points during the spurt and looked like App was starting to establish some momentum.However, GT ended the half on a 15-4 run to go into the locker room with a 46-21 advantage.
App State did perform better in the second half despite being outscored by GT, 35-31. After shooting 51.5 percent in the first half, Appalachian held the Yellow Jackets to 31.6 percent shooting from the floor in the second stanza. The Mountaineers held a 17-16 edge in offensive boards while assisting on 12 of their 19 field goals, equaling 63.1 percent (season best).
Appalachian received solid contributions off the bench, where Amber Driver scored a personal-best seven points, and Armani Hampton played a career-high 22 minutes and pulled down a personal-high six boards.
Cha'Ron Sweeney (17 points) and Antonia Peresson (15 points) combined for 10 of the Yellow Jackets' 14 3-pointers, which was a school record for the hosts.
The schedule doesn't get easier as the Apps head to Knoxville for a 7 p.m. contest against Tennessee on Wednesday. The game will be streamed on SEC+.
