BOONE, N.C. - App State women's basketball (0-3) staged a furious comeback to tie the game going into the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough in a 70-57 defeat to ETSU (2-1) on Wednesday evening in the Holmes Center.
Tierra Wilson paced the Mountaineer offense with a career-high 17 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the field. Wilson scored 13 of her points in the second half and shot 3-of-5 from the floor, a vast improvement from her 2-for-8 performance in the first half. Wilson would also come down with a personal-high six rebounds to go along with two assists.
Bayley Plummer had another stellar game rebounding with a game-best 13 off the glass, tying her career high. The sophomore was one point shy of a second consecutive double-double, while she's amassed at least 10 rebounds in all three games this season. Plummer tied a career mark with three blocked shots.
Several Mountaineers would reach career highs in different areas including
Lainey Gosnell's eight points off the bench. The freshman led the reserves in scoring en route to a season-high 22 points for the bench.
Kaila Craven also contributed to the effort with seven points, six of which came on two 3-pointers.
Maya Calder had her best performance of the season in her young career, where she hustled and battled her way in the paint to four points and five off the glass.
Despite the setback, the Mountaineers can take positives away from Wednesday's effort. Appalachian scored a season-high 57 points and assisted on a season-best 16 of 20 field goals (80 percent).
Nicola Mathews and LaPresha Stanley each had a team-best four assists while seven different student-athletes chipped in with a helper. Appalachian also protected the ball much better in the second with eight miscues as opposed to the first half with 11 turnovers, and the Black and Gold won the battle on the boards with a 48-41 edge. After making just two 3-pointers on Sunday at Radford, the Black and Gold drained a season-high seven trifectas.
Facing a 38-28 deficit in the third quarter with 6:17 left in the frame, the Black and Gold frontcourt of Plummer, Calder, and Gosnell sparked a 16-6 run with three straight field goals highlighted by Gosnell's corner 3-pointer over a 1:10 span to bring the Apps to within three, 38-35. App State continued the charged when
Armani Hampton and Wilson scored the final nine points including one of Wilson's two treys to tie up the contest going into the fourth period.
Appalachian had by far its best quarter in the third stanza as it shot 50 percent from the field and outscored the Bucs, 21-10, holding the visitors to just three-made buckets.
ETSU would recapture the momentum early outscoring the hosts by seven in the first 4:55 of the frame. Wilson stepped up once again with another 3-pointer to bring the Apps to six, 58-52, but the Buccaneers ended the contest on a 12-5 run over the last 3:34 of the game to clinch its first win over App in the last four matchups.
Three players for ETSU scored in double figures with Tianna Tarter pouring in a game-high 22 points, while Eric Haynes-Overton (15 points) and Alayjah Sherer (12 points) rounded out the leading scorers.
App State will look for its first win on Sunday against Davidson at 2 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Tip-Ins
- The 22 points off the bench are the most since the Apps scored 27 against UNC Asheville last season.
- Plummer is the first Mountaineer since Mia Marshall in 2015-16 to record 10 rebounds in three straight games. The Thomasville, N.C. is averaging 12.7 rebounds, 8.0 points, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game through the first three contests of the season.
