SAN MARCOS, Texas - Appalachian State University women's basketball (8-14, 5-8) used a late surge in the fourth quarter to climb back to within singles digits, but it wasn't enough in an 87-76 setback to Texas State (11-12, 6-7 SBC) Thursday evening at Strahan Coliseum.
Joi Jones scored a team-high 17 points on six buckets and converted 5-of-6 from the line while pulling down seven boards.
Kaila Craven came off the bench to put in 14 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while
Bria Carter went for 12 points and a career-high six assists.
Mia Marshall produced a solid outing off the bench with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting ,eight rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass and a game-high four swats.
KeKe Cooper came away with her fifth double-figure rebounding contest of the season with 10 boards.
The Apps would get the start they wanted in the first 3:04 of the contest jumping out to a 9-2 lead.
Jasmine Ogunjimi started the run with all five of her points on the first two field goals for the Mountaineers. Jones followed that up with a layup before
Madi Story hit two of her four foul shots to cap off the run.
But the Bobcats came back on an 11-2 run over a span of 4:38 to tie the game, 13-13, before eventually taking a 19-15 lead going into the second period. The Apps scored just six points over the final 6:56 of the first quarter to the Bobcats' 17 points during the run.
Trailing by four to begin the second quarter, the Mountaineers strung together a 7-2 spurt to take a 22-21 lead with 7:22 left in the first half. Craven had a hand in five of the points with an assist to Cooper on a jumper and a trifecta on the ensuing possession. Jones' hard drive to the bucket gave the Apps a one-point lead and some momentum. However, the Bobcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 28-22.
Texas State hung onto the lead for the rest of the first half despite the Mountaineers slicing the gap to one possession on two occasions. App State went down by six, 38-32, before Carter hit a free throw that gave the Bobcats a 38-33 lead going into the locker room. Jones led the squad with 10 points at the break.
If it wasn't for a 31-point outburst from the Bobcats in the third quarter, the result could have been a different story, as the Mountaineers outscored the hosts, 57-56, in the other three periods.
TXST outscored App State, 31-19, in the third frame while going 5-for-6 from distance, including seven-straight made trifectas going back to the first half. App State did hit five-straight field goals but the Mountaineers couldn't stop the Texas State threat from outside the arc, as the Bobcats hit three 3-pointers on three-consecutive possessions. TXST kept the lead at double digits going into the fourth period, 69-52.
Trailing by as much as 20, 73-53, with 7:31 left in the game, the Mountaineers used an 18-7 surge over the next 5:04 to slim the deficit to single digits, 79-71. Appalachian scored 11 of the points from the charity stripe, which stopped the clock to allow the Apps more time to get back in the game. Five student-athletes scored for the Mountaineers while Craven and Carter combined for 12 points to lead the charge.
The Appalachian defense clamped down on Texas State, limiting the Bobcats to 2-for-12 shooting from the field and nearly half (six) of the turnovers Texas State committed in the final 7:31 of the game. After Texas State hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to double digits, 82-71, Story connected on a trey to cut the lead to eight, 82-74, with 1:07 left in the game. But the Bobcats claimed the victory as it was too little, too late, evening up the all-time series at two apiece.
App State outscored the Bobcats, 24-18, in the final quarter while 14 of the Mountaineers' points came from the foul line. Texas State shot just 3-for-23 (23.1 percent) in the final frame, but also hit 12 free throws. It was a physical fourth quarter where 25 of the 49 fouls were called and 38 in the second half overall.
The Black and Gold connected on a season-high 24 foul shots, dominated TXST in the paint with 32 points while outscoring the Bobcats, 12-8, in second chance points. What proved to be the difference was 3-pointers. Texas State scored 27 points on nine trifectas to the Apps' four treys, equaling 12 points.
Raven Burns led four student-athletes in double figures for the Bobcats, turning in 21 points while Ayriel Anderson scored 19. The duo combined for eight buckets from beyond the arc.
App State will have a quick turnaround on Saturday at UT Arlington in another important Sun Belt contest at 6 p.m. (ET).
