App State Women's Basketball: Presented by Auto Star Nissan of Boone
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (0-1) suffered an 80-61 setback at UAB (1-0) in the season opener on Friday evening in Bartow Arena.
Making her first start in a Mountaineer uniform,
Ashley Polacek didn't disappoint as she scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and grabbed six rebounds.
Tierra Wilson tied for the team lead with 15 off the bench, while
Lainey Gosnell rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points and collected six off the glass.
Bayley Plummer amassed 10 off the glass for a game high.
Facing the Conference USA preseason favorites, App won the battle on the boards (46-43) with 16 offensive rebounds to UAB's seven, turned the ball over just 11 times and outscored the hosts 36-28 in the paint. However, App shot just 33 percent from the field and 2-for-22 from beyond the arc. UAB shot 47 percent from the floor and hit nine trifectas in the process.
UAB delivered an early punch with a 16-6 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by Deanna Kuzmanic and Trista Magee before an App State timeout. Appalachian responded with an 8-2 surge in the final 2:07 of the opening period that dwindled the deficit to 18-14 following Gosnell's trifecta with 24 seconds left in the quarter.
App State continued the run in the early goings of the second quarter, tying up the game at 20-apiece with six straight points thanks to consecutive field goals by Polacek and a jumper from Wilson. But once again the Blazers went on a run that separated themselves into a 35-24 lead going into the half after a 15-4 run over the final 6:48 of the first half.
Madi Story scored two of her eight third-quarter points in the first minute of the stanza with a jumper before Gosnell drove to the lane for the layup that sliced the lead to seven, 35-28. But UAB hit back-to-back treys on the next two possessions to push the lead back to double digits. The Blazers shot 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half after being held in check in the first stanza at 3-for-12.
Miyah Barnes led UAB with 19 points while Deanna Kuzmanic scored 17 points, shooting a combined 13-of-22 from the field. The rest of the Blazers shot 40 percent from the floor (16-40).
App State has a quick turnaround as it faces Georgia Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Atlanta.
