Slow Start Dooms App State in Setback at Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark. - Appalachian State University women's basketball guard LaPresha Stanley scored a game-high 20 points, but it wasn't enough in a 69-52 setback to Arkansas State on Thursday evening inside First National Bank Arena.

Stanley scored on seven buckets and finished 6-of-7 from the foul line for the second 20-point outing in the last four games. Both performances for Stanley have come on the road.

Tierra Wilson was the other Mountaineer with 11 points, scoring eight of her points in the second half. The freshman led the team in rebounds with seven off the glass.

A slow start for the Mountaineers set the tone for the rest of the game where Arkansas State hit four 3-pointers and shot 50 percent en route to taking a 21-9 lead at the end of the first frame.

The Red Wolves continued to build the lead in the second period going up by as much as 19, 37-18. However, the Apps started to create a little bit of momentum in the final 2:35 of the first stanza with a 6-2 burst.  A layup from Lainey Gosnell followed by two free throws by Wilson before Bayley Plummer's layup with 40 seconds sliced the gap to 15, 37-22. 

Appalachian came out on fire hitting its first five shots and six of its first seven attempts overall. Wilson connected on both the Apps' 3-pointers during the run. But the lead was only dwindled down to 11, 47-36, as Arkansas State traded baskets on four of the Apps' made field goals during the surge. 

Both teams wouldn't score over the next 2:29 of the third frame until a jumper by Nicola Mathews closed the deficit to single digits, 47-38.

App State closed the gap to just nine once more in the stanza before the hosts scored the final four points to take a 53-40 advantage into the fourth quarter. 

The Mountaineers pieced together an 8-2 run in the first 2:21 of the period to whittle the deficit to just seven, 55-48. Plummer and Armani Hampton connected on layups in back-to-back possessions before four straight foul shots by Stanley and Wilson capped off the run.

App's defense played a pivotal role in the run as it limited A-State to three for its previous 16 over nine-plus minutes going back to the third quarter. 

With the game starting to turn to App's favor, the Red Wolves responded with a 7-0 spurt and didn't let the Black and Gold gain any more momentum.

App State returns to action on Saturday against Little Rock at 4 p.m. (ET) in the final road contest of the regular season.