App State Falls to UTA in Close Affair

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (2-11, 0-2 SBC) fell to UTA (7-6, 1-1 SBC) in a back-and-forth battle, 64-60, on New Year's Eve inside the Holmes Center.

LaPresha Stanley led three Mountaineers in double figures with a game-high 15 points while pulling down six rebounds (four offensive). Bayley Plummer had herself another dominating day on the glass with a staggering career-high of 20 rebounds on top of nine points. The sophomore center did an excellent job on defense holding Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, Rebekah VanDijk to just five points on 2-for-6 shooting from the floor. Plummer is only one of six players all-time to accomplish the feat while the 20 boards are tied for ninth in a single game. 

Tierra Wilson had herself an all-around performance with 13 points, a career-high nine rebounds and tied a personal-high with six assists and just one turnover. Wilson and Stanley both went perfect from the line going 8-for-8 and 5-of-5, respectively. Appalachian shot a season-high 77.8 percent (21-of-27) from the line with the 21 free throw makes being a season best as well. Lainey Gosnell came off the bench to score 12 points, nine of which came in the second half. 

It was a high-intensity matchup that featured 15 ties and 15 lead changes while no team had a lead larger than eight points. 

Trailing 45-38 going into the final frame, Gosnell sparked a 12-2 run over the first 3:27 of the fourth period with five straight points followed by a layup from Maya Calder to tie up the game, 45-45. After both teams traded baskets to keep the game tied, Wilson drilled a trey to give App a 50-47 advantage with 6:33 left in the game. However, the Mavs responded with five quick points to retake the lead, 52-50. Both teams exchanged three ties and three lead changes in the intense clash over a 1:18 span when Gosnell hit 1-of-2 at the line to give App a 57-56 edge with 2:10 left in the game.

Appalachian had the momentum until UTA outscored the hosts, 8-3, the rest of the way to capture the four-point win. The Mountaineers went cold from the floor over the final 2:15 of the game going 1-for-6, some of which those shots were clean looks. 

The Mountaineers came out of the gate with the start they wanted jumping out to an 11-3 lead in the opening quarter. Both Stanley and Nicola Mathews combined for all 11 points to start. Appalachian continued to stay in front the entire opening period by a point, 15-14, after Stanley hit a pair of free throws with 58 seconds left.

In the second quarter, neither team led by more than four points while both schools had trouble putting the ball in the basket. App held UTA to 35.7 percent shooting from the field and Appalachian hit just one field goal during the frame. However, the Mountaineers did an excellent job shooting 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the line. The Mavericks were in front 25-23 with 1:40 left in the half before four consecutive free throws to end the stanza gave App the 27-25 edge at the half. 

The third quarter belonged to the Mavericks as they outscored the Black and Gold, 20-11. Both teams continued to trade baskets up until the 1:16 mark when UTA put together an 8-0 spurt to go into the final quarter with the seven-point margin. The nine-point separation was the highest margin in any quarter, as App outscored the visitors by five points through the first, second and fourth periods. 

App posted a 48-37 edge on the glass including 18-11 in offensive rebounds. However, App had just 10 points on its second-chance opportunities as opposed to UTA's 14 second-chance points. 

Appalachian will look for its first win in conference play when it heads to the Pelican State to take on Louisiana (Thursday, Dec. 4) and UL Monroe (Saturday, Dec. 6). 

Tip-Ins
- Plummer is the first Mountaineer since Shannon Thomas (22 rebounds) in the 1989-1990 season to grab at least 20 off the glass
- Plummer is the first student-athlete in the Sun Belt to record 20 more rebounds since Caitlyn Ramirez last season. 
- Plummer owns the three of the highest rebounding performances in the Sun Belt with 20,18 and 16 rebounds, respectively. 
- Wilson now has eight games this season with 10 or more points
- Stanley bounced back after just scoring two points against Texas State to score at least 15 points for the fourth time in the past five games
- Wilson's perfect performance from the line is the most free throw makes without a miss since Maryah Sydnor went 8-for-8 from the line in 2013-14
- Gosnell is now averaging 10.8 points at home this season (7.6 overall)
- Wilson led the team with a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 22, while Plummer (16) and Stanley (15) followed suit
- Gosnell led the team with a plus/minus of four.