ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (2-9) came back all the way from a 13-point deficit to force overtime but would fall to UNC Asheville (3-7), 69-60, on Thursday evening inside Kimmel Arena.
Armani Hampton poured in a career-high 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field with nine boards, which was just one rebound shy of her first-career double-double. Bayley Plummer turned in her second straight double-double with 14 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a personal-high five blocks.
LaPresha Stanley scored 15 points (11 in the second half) with five rebounds, while
Tierra Wilson rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points.Â
The Mountaineers outscored the Bulldogs, 22-9, after trailing late in the third quarter, 48-35. App State shot 60 percent in the final frame and held UNCA to 28.6 percent en route to the Mountaineers outscoring the hosts, 20-9, to force the overtime period.
With a 1:47 left in regulation and trailing 56-53, the Apps tallied four of the next five points to tie the game, 57-57, after Plummer found Hampton down low. Plummer came up with a pivotal block on the ensuing possession to give the Black and Gold a chance to win the game with 9.4 seconds left. With time winding down, Plummer got off a perfect look in the paint but the attempt just rimmed out.Â
In overtime, App was first to strike when Hampton fed Plummer with a beautiful lob to push Appalachian to a 59-57 advantage, giving the Mountaineers their first lead since early in the first half. However, the Bulldogs regained a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way after Jessica Wall hit a trifecta that started a 12-1 run over the last 3:18 of the game to snap App State's three-game win streak in the series.Â
The Apps trailed for much of the first half following a 4-0 start thanks to a pair of field goals from Hampton. UNCA responded with a run of its own going up by as much as 10 in the first quarter, 16-6. Five straight points from Wilson sliced the gap to six, 17-11, going into the second period.Â
In the second period, App continued to claw back bringing the gap to within a point following a layup from Stanley, 22-21, with 2:29 left in the half. Appalachian eventually went into the break trailing by four, 27-23.Â
UNCA came out of the third period and took control before App's comeback. The Bulldogs shot 66.7 percent from the floor and hit outscored Appalachian 21-14 to go into the final period up by 11. 48-37.Â
App State shot 40 percent and held UNCAÂ to 37.3 percent shooting while outscoring the Bulldogs 46-30 in the paint and 15-4 in second-chance points. The difference was 3-point shooting, as UNCA outscored App, 21-3, from 3-point range. Six of those trifectas came from Wall, who led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points. UNCAÂ also scored 20 points off of 20 App turnovers.Â
The Mountaineers will now turn their attention to Sun Belt play, as they host Texas State (Dec. 29 - 5 p.m.) and UTA (Dec. 31 - 12 p.m.) next weekend.Â
Tip-Ins
- Plummer corralled at least 10 boards for the ninth time in 11 games
- Plummer recorded her fourth double-double of the season and the sixth of her career
- App State is now 14-4 all-time against UNC Asheville
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