BOONE, N.C. -- Led by five double-digit scorers and a season-high 54 points in the paint, Appalachian State University women's basketball rocketed to their largest conference victory in two years, downing Arkansas State 76-50 on Thursday night at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (7-7, 2-1 Sun Belt) used 45.7 percent shooting and staunch defense to hand the Red Wolves (3-12, 1-2 Sun Belt) their largest defeat since 2012-13 when they lost to Middle Tennessee, 93-49.

The 26-point victory also snaps a four-game slide at home in conference play and a four-game losing streak against the Red Wolves. 

Appalachian was led by Bria Carter, who finished with a career-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and one block. Right behind her was Joi Jones, who tallied 13 points, five rebounds and two steals as well as one takeaway on the night.  

Bayley Plummer finished the game with her first career double-double, having 10 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. Her career-high 11 boards matched the team total for Arkansas State for the game.

Plummer becomes the first freshman since Maryah Sydnor to tally a double-double. Sydnor's came against Chattanooga on March 4, 2012 (30 points, 10 rebounds).

Q. Murray continued her strong season with 12 points, three rebounds and two steals, while Brooklyn Allen finished with career-high 10 points and five rebounds to go along with four assists.

The Mountaineers refused to give up after the first shot all evening, setting a season-high for second-chance points. App State out-rebounded the Red Wolves 51-35 to get 29 second-effort points. Their 51 rebounds ties a season-high as well.

Also on the defensive side, the Black and Gold forced 26 miscues, which led to a season-high 29 points-off-turnovers. The 26 turnovers is the most that Arkansas State has given up all season.

Leading the rim protection was Ashley Bassett-Smith, who finished with a season-high five rejections while also snagging six rebounds on the night. Madi Story  paced the team with five assists along with five points and three off the glass.

The game did stay close for the first quarter with Arkansas State taking a 22-21 lead with five ties and nine lead changes. App State and Arkansas State wouldn't gain any separation from each other until the 4:58 mark of the second quarter when Appalachian used a 9-2 run to go into the half with a 40-33 lead. App State held A-State to a 4:58 scoring drought during the run while four different Mountaineers scored.

Seven different student-athletes scored during the first half with Carter scoring 13 and Jones turning in nine points. App State held a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points. 

 It was all App coming out of the locker room dominating the visitors on both ends of the floor. Appalachian outscored A-State,19-6, the fewest points A-State has scored in any quarter this season. The Mountaineers held A-State scoreless for an impressive 5:36 during a 15-0 run that catapulted App to a 59-34 lead. A-State wouldn't score its first field goal until there were 39 seconds left in the third quarter before Appalachian went into the final frame with a 59-39 lead.

Arkansas State went 1-for-10 from the floor and nine miscues during the third frame. Appalachian shot 61.5 percent from the floor, scored 14 of 19 points in the box and 11 points off Arkansas State's mistakes. 

App State cruised in the final quarter, stretching the lead to as much as 28 (76-48) with 14 seconds left in the game before the clock hit zeroes and winning the second of its first three Sun Belt games for the second time in three seasons since joining the league.

Since the first quarter, App State outscored A-State, 55-28, held the defending regular-season Sun Belt Champions to 9-for-41 (21.9 percent) shooting from the floor and forced 22 turnovers. In addition, the Apps held the top team in 3-point field goal percentage coming into the game hitting 36.6 percent to just 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. 

The defense held A-State's top two leading scorers in check, as the tandem of Jada Ford and Dominique Oliver shot just 3-of-14 combined from the field, 13 points, and eight turnovers. 

The Mountaineers will look to extend their current win streak to three games on Saturday when they take on Little Rock at the Holmes Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.

 Quotable
“Tonight was a team win with contributions from everyone. I'm proud of our growth this week and our constant commitment to getting better every day in practice. Our emphasis was to win the paint (54-27) and the rebounding (51-35), and our team executed exceptionally in both.” - Head Coach Angel Elderkin.

Tip-Ins
- App State's last two wins at home (UNC Asheville: 81-51, 12/21/16) have been by an average of 28 points.
- Jones is 18 points away from becoming the 24th member of the 1,000-point club.
- Appalachian is 7-0 this season when scoring 30 or more points in the paint and has averaged 48 over the past two games (2-0).
- The Mountaineers are 5-0 when scoring at least 20 points off turnovers and 30 points in the box.
- Plummer and Allen combined to shoot 9-for-15 off the bench wth a combined 20 points and 16 boards.
- Four of Armani Hampton's five boards were on the offensive end.
- Hampton (+22) and Plummer (+21) led the team in plus/minus while Carter (+19), Jones (+19) and Madi Story (+17) followed suit.
- App State had five players score in double-figures for the first time since 1/28/16 when App State defeated Troy on the road, 96-81.