Offense Comes Alive in First Victory for App State

CHARLESTON, S.C. - App State University women's basketball (1-5) can breathe a little easier following a team-centric performance that led to a 76-70 triumph at College of Charleston (1-5) on Sunday afternoon at TD Arena.

The Mountaineers snapped a six-game skid dating back to last season while capturing their first win of the campaign. Tierra Wilson registered a personal-high 23 points and facilitated her way to career-high six assists. Wilson had her best stat of the afternoon with zero turnovers in her best performance of the season playing the entire 40 minutes. Bayley Plummer  battled through foul trouble to collect her second double-double of the season with a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also dished out a personal-best of four assists. 

Nicola Mathews chipped in with 12 points on four 3-pointers, a Black and Gold-high this season. Armani Hampton rounded out the leading scorers with nine points and a career-best 12 rebounds. 

App State moved the ball exceptionally well with 21 assists on 25 field goals while eight of 10 players scored, leading to a season-high 76 points. The Mountaineers would outscore the Cougars 30-6 from 3-point land off a season-best 10 3-pointers. 

The Mountaineers got the start they needed jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the first 3:15 of the contest after Wilson found Lainey Gosnell  for a 3-pointer on the right wing. College of Charleston would score 12 of the next 20 points to cut the App State lead to two,16-14 going into the second frame. 

After the Cougars had tied up the game, 16-16, within the first 16 seconds of the second period, Wilson and Plummer scored all eight points during an 8-1 surge over a 2:12 span to give App a 25-17 lead. App State would never relinquish its lead despite the hosts pulling to within single digits, 31-28, near the end of the first half. Plummer started another run that led to seven straight points including a Mathews trey and a tip-in at the buzzer from Plummer to balloon the App State lead to 10, 38-28. Appalachian did a great job of protecting the ball with just six turnovers. 

The Mountaineers never trailed by less than eight points in the third quarter, eventually pushing the advantage to as much as 14, 52-38, after Hampton hit a pair at the free throw line. 

After the Black and Gold went into the fourth period with an 11-point lead, 59-48, the Cougars wouldn't make things easy for the Apps, as they closed to within seven points, 61-54. LaPresha Stanley came up with a timely 3-point play that extended the lead back to 10, 64-54. CofC continued to claw its way back in the final 3:49 of the contest, pulling to within as close as five points, 64-59. But Mathews had other plans as she drained trifectas on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to three, 70-61. 

CofC cut the deficit to six with 27 seconds left before Kaila Craven went 4-for-4 from the line in 26 seconds to keep the Cougars at bay en route to the win. App State converted 14 of 19 at the line, which by far was the best of the season at 73.7 percent. 

App State forced 18 CofC Turnovers into a season-high 15 points off the miscues. The rebounding effort was stellar with a season-best 21 on the offensive end, leading 17 second-chance points. 

The Mountaineers will look to make it two in a row on Friday in the annual Education Day Game against UAB at noon inside the Holmes Center. 

Quotable
"Today was a team effort on both ends of the court. We had huge contributions from everyone, and I am most proud of our effort on the boards. Our mantra this season has been THE TEAM, and it really shows when our team has 21 assists on 26 field goals." - Head Coach Angel Elderkin

Tip-Ins
- Wilson is the second freshman this season to score at least 20 points in a game (Lainey Gosnell - 20 points; 11/19 vs. Davidson)
- The 10 3-pointers are the most since App hit 10 from beyond the arc against Norfolk State during the 2012-13 season
- Appalachian scored a season-high 1.041 points per possession in the win
- The Mountaineers' 17 second-chance points are a season high
- The 38 minutes played by Hampton is a career-high, while Mathews played a personal-high 31 minutes in an App State uniform