Box Score LAFAYETTE, La.- Appalachian State University women's basketball (10-9, 4-4 SBC) fell to Louisiana (6-14, 3-6 SBC) by a score of 73-55 on Thursday evening inside the Cajundome.
Lainey Gosnell led the team in scoring with 12 points, while
Madi Story posted 11 points and nine rebounds.
Bayley Plummer pulled down 11 off the glass and added seven points.
The Mountaineers and Ragin' Cajuns were in a back-and-forth battle in a first half with each team exchanging five ties and seven lead changes.
Appalachian started the team with a 6-2 lead in the first 1:28 of the game.
Maya Calder and
Pre Stanley hit Appalachian's first two field goals before Storycapped off the run with a bucket of her own. After the Black and Gold were in front, 8-4, Louisiana put together an 11-4 run over a 3:50 span to take a 17-12 lead. App responded by scoring nine of the next 14 points to bring the lead to just one, 22-21.
Nicola Mathews highlighted the burst with a pair of trifectas, including a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the quarter.
With the game tied, 26-26, Plummer flexed her muscle on the offensive end with six straight points to give App a 32-29 advantage in what looked like a momentum swing for App. Once again, Louisiana came back with an answer as it took a 36-34 lead with 31 seconds left in the quarter.
Armani Hampton came up with a big layup in traffic to tie things up before the buzzer, 36-36.
While trailing 42-37 with 7:09 left in the third quarter, a layup by Gosnell and a pair of free throws by
Ashley Polacek trimmed the deficit to just one, 42-41. However, App missed its last seven shots of the quarter, which led to Louisiana jumping out to an 18-point lead at the end of the quarter.
Appalachian made one last run when Gosnell's seven consecutive points sliced the Louisiana lead to single digits. But Louisiana stretched the lead back to double digits and sealed the win.
Three players scored in double figures with the Ragin' Cajuns being led by Ty'Reona Doucet, who turned in a double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds.
The Mountaineers will look to bounce back on Saturday against UL Monroe at 3 p.m. (ET).
