2017-18 SCHEDULE
BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State University women's basketball and head coach Angel Elderkin announced the non-conference schedule for the 2017-18 campaign.
The schedule will feature three ACC opponents and five home games to go along with six contests away from the Holmes Center. App State has fared well against its non-conference foes, boasting a .541 winning percentage with winning records against seven of 11 opponents
App State will play a Halloween exhibition contest against Tusculum College before opening up the regular season. The Mountaineers will start off the schedule with three of their first four games at home, beginning with Georgia Tech on Friday, Nov. 10. The Yellow Jackets are one of three postseason opponents App will play this season, as GT finished 22-15 en route to a championship appearance in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). It'll be the first time an ACC opponent has visited the High Country since GT played in Boone in the 2006-07 season.
Two days later on Sunday, Nov. 12, the Black and Gold will play a formidable Radford squad on the road. The Highlanders finished the 2016-17 season with a 24-9 record, a runner-up finish in the Big South Conference Tournament final to a familiar foe in UNC Asheville followed by a trip to the WNIT. App will follow that up with back-to-back home games against former Southern Conference foes in ETSU on Nov. 15 and Davidson on Nov. 19.
App needed a Joi Jones buzzer-beater in the final seconds at ETSU to give the Mountaineers their seventh win in the last eight meetings against the Buccaneers. The Mountaineers and Wildcats play for the first time since 2014 when App eeked out a 72-70 victory.
A Nov. 21 matchup on Tuesday at North Carolina A&T will start a string of four road contests over the next five contests, while College of Charleston will await App five days later on Sunday, Nov. 26. App returns to the Holmes Center to begin the December slate against UAB in the first-ever meeting between the two opponents on Dec. 1.
The next two games will take place on the road where App will play a pair of ACC opponents in North Carolina (Dec. 3) and Wake Forest on Dec. 7. Appalachian nearly upended the Tar Heels in 2015-16, and the matchup between the Mountaineers and Demon Deacons is the first since 2008. App's 10 wins against WF is the most against any ACC opponent.
Appalachian will play it's final two non-conference on the road beginning against Marshall on Saturday, Dec. 16 before wrapping up non-conference play against the defending Big South Tournament champions and NCAA participant, UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs fell to eventual NCAA champion and No. 1 seed South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mountaineers bring back six student-athletes from last season including leading scorer Madi Story. App has reloaded for the season, signing seven newcomers for 2017-18.
Quotable
"Every year it is important for us to have a challenging schedule to prepare our team for the Sun Belt Conference. We will be tested opening weekend with two tough postseason teams in Georgia Tech and Radford. We are excited about our in-state ACC games, as we love to provide our players the opportunity to compete on big stages against Wake Forest and UNC. With 50 percent of our roster being new this season, we are looking at our non-conference schedule as a way to prepare us both mentally and physically. We are excited for the 2017-18 season." - Head Coach Angel Elderkin
