Women's Basketball Welcomes Defending Sun Belt Champions

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (10-7, 4-2 SBC) hosts the defending Sun Belt regular season and tournament champions, Little Rock (10-8, 6-1 SBC), on Saturday at 2 p.m.
in the Holmes Center. 

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About the Mountaineers

Last Time Out
Appalachian continued the success at home with a 75-67 victory over Arkansas State on Thursday. The victory improved the Mountaineers' Holmes record to a stellar 8-1. Madi Story recorded her first double-double of the season with a game-high 25 points and a season-best 10 rebounds. The redshirt-senior shot an efficient 11-of-17 from the floor. She scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. Lainey Gosnell hit five of her eight shot attempts en route to 12 points. Bayley Plummer was an inside force on both ends of the court, as she snagged a game-high 15 points with eight points, a season-high four blocks and two assists. 

What to Watch for
- In Sun Belt play, Ashley Polacek is averaging 11.8 points and 7.0 assists, while shooting 45.8 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the free throw line. Polacek was a team-high plus-18 against Arkansas State. See if 
Polacek can continue to do a solid job of running the offense.
- Ronjanae DeGray (17.9 ppg) and Kyra Collier (16.6 ppg) are combining to score 34.5 points per game during league play. The duo second and third in scoring, respectively, in conference action. App's defense has tightened up on its opponents' leading scorers over the last three games. Texas State, Coastal Carolina  and Arkansas State's leading scorers went a combined 11-of-39 for just 32 points. Watch if the defense can keep two of the Sun Belt's top scorers in check.
- The plus-39 scoring margin in the first quarter by Little Rock show it gets off to fast starts. So far through the first six Sun Belt contests, App is being outscored by 14 points in the opening period. Through the next three periods, App is
outscoring its foes by a combined 46 points. Watch if the Black and Gold can get off to a strong start.
- After scoring just four points against Coastal Carolina last Saturday, the reserves came through when their number was called with 16 points. Maya Calder and Tierra Wilson led the charge with 15 of the points. See if the bench unit can come through again on Saturday. 
- App State has scored at least 30 points in the paint in seven of its nine victories, including a season-high 46 points in the paint against Arkansas State. Watch if the Mountaineers can get easy opportunities inside. 

Scouting Little Rock

- A top-tier program, Little Rock is off to another strong start in conference play with a 6-1 mark. 
- The Trojans are 10-8 overall and winners of their last four games. 
- Kyra Collier leads the team in scoring at a clip of 14.7 ppg and in assists at 3.1 apg. 
- During conference play, Ronjanae DeGray has been the top scorer. DeGray is averaging 17.9 ppg game on 52 percent shooting. She's also averaging 8.7 rpg. 
- Ronjanae is second in the Sun Belt in scoring during league action.
- Once again, Little Rock tops the conference in scoring defense, allowing a league-low 57.8 ppg. 
- The Trojans' lone conference loss came against Troy, 71-66. 
- Little Rock was picked to win the conference after capturing the regular-season title and the tournament crown last season.

Series History

LR is one of two teams in the Sun Belt has yet to beat. The Mountaineers faced LR three times last season including the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament

What's Next

App State will hit the road following the three-game homestand. The Mountaineers make the trip to Louisiana. Appalachian will face the Ragin' Cajuns on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.