BOONE, N.C. - Three players scored in double-figures, but it wasn't enough as Appalachian State University women's basketball (10-17, 5-11 SBC) suffered a 68-58 decision to Louisiana (16-8, 10-5 SBC) in the Holmes Center on Saturday.
Madi Story recorded her sixth 20-point game of the season scoring a game-high 20 points (16 in the second half) on an efficient 9-for-12 shooting with eight boards and four assists.
Joi Jones scored a conference-best this season with 17 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. She also added five assists and grabbed five off the glass. Q. Murray rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points and scattered five helpers.
Bayley Plummer tied her career high with 11 boards on the night, her third double-digit rebounding game of the season.
In a physical game that featured 53 fouls, the Apps came back from as much as 12 in the third quarter to just one on multiple occasions in the second half.
After Louisiana hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third frame to take a 33-21 lead, the Apps surged back with a 14-3 run over a 4:34 span to cut the lead to one, 36-35. Nine points were scored by Story during the run while Murray and Amber Driver chipped in with five.
App continued to stay on the Cajuns' tails in the fourth quarter going into the period trailing by three. Following a Louisiana bucket that pushed the lead to 44-39, App sliced the deficit to one once again thanks to back-to-back layups in transition from Story and Jones.
As the trend continued during the game, Louisiana hit timely shots to keep App from taking the lead, as the visitors responded with a pair of buckets go out front by five, 48-43.
The Cajuns then went up by as much as 10 with 3:30 left, 60-50, before App stormed back to cut the deficit to three points, 61-58. Jones scored all eight points during the 8-1 run to give Appalachian a chance for a score-and-stop.
But Louisiana would score the next seven points to claim its fifth-straight victory.
App will look to end the weekend 1-1 on Saturday against UL Monroe at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
