Mountaineers Suffer Road Loss to Troy

TROY, Ala. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (5-14, 3-5 SBC) suffered an 81-74 decision to Troy (8-10, 3-5 SBC) on Monday evening inside Trojan Arena.

Maya Calder had the best game of her young career where she registered her first-ever double-double. The freshman scored a career-high 15 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor with a personal-high 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. LaPresha Stanley scored a career-best 18 points on six buckets and a 6-of-7 performance from the charity stripe. Bayley Plummer registered her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards, while Nicola Mathews rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points and tied a team-high with four helpers. 

After trailing by as much as 11 with 5:10 left in the third quarter, 56-45, the Mountaineers staged an impressive 18-6 run over the rest of the period into the first 45 seconds of the final frame to take a 63-62 lead. During the surge, the Apps went 6-of-8 over a 2:54 stretch capped off by their only 3-pointer of the game by Mathews to give App the momentum. The lead was short lived however as Troy responded with an 8-0 run to claim the lead for good. Stanley's three-point play with 6:13 left in the game close the gap to four, 70-66. That was as close as the Mountaineers would get with Troy pulling away late for the win.

Appalachian connected on just 1-of-14 from 3-point range, which was the lowest total in conference play after averaging 8.4 3-pointers during league action. App led the conference shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. 

The Mountaineers also missed 11 free throws converting 19-of-30 at the line while Troy went 17-for-21. 

Troy jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first 2:35 of the game hitting four of its first five shots. Appalachian clawed its way back to one at the end of the quarter, 20-19, following a 13-4 surge while trailing 16-7. The combo of Calder and Anna Perez Gomez combined for nine of the points off the bench to give App a spark. Gomez finished the game with six points and was a pest on defense coming up with one steal. 

Back-to-back jumpers by Tierra Wilson before a bucket from Armani Hampton pushed App to a 25-22 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first half. Troy and App State went back-and-forth trading baskets until the Trojans went ahead, 38-31. A layup from Calder and two free throws by Wilson brought the visitors to within three, 38-35, before the break.

The Trojans attempted to put the game away early in the third quarter going up by 11 before App mounted the comeback. Whenever it looked like the Mountaineers were starting to take over the game, the Trojans hit timely shots. 

Kayla Robinson paced the Trojans with 21 points and a game-high 10 assists. She led three Trojans in double figures. 

App State turned the ball over just 13 times against a Troy team that came in forcing teams into 23.2 turnovers per game, which was seventh in the nation. However, the Trojans controlled the glass 52-34, including 18 offensive rebounds. 

Troy also outscored App State 18-3 from 3-point land. 

The Mountaineers will look to regroup as they are back at the Holmes Center. They host Little Rock on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Trojans will enter the High Country with an undefeated 7-0 record in Sun Belt play.