BOONE, N.C. - After a 59-50 win over South Alabama in the regular season finale yesterday, Appalachian State University women's basketball earned the fifth seed in the 2019 Sun Belt Tournament held in New Orleans at Lakefront Arena.
The Mountaineers will face the winner of No. 8 seed Arkansas State and No. 9 seed Coastal Carolina on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET in the second round. The winner of that game will face fourth-seeded Georgia State
in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Appalachian went a combined 2-1 against the Chanticleers and Red Wolves. App split the season series against Coastal Carolina with each team winning on its home floor, while the Apps defeated the Red Wolves in Boone, 75-67, in the only matchup. Over the last two years, the Mountaineers faced CCU and A-State in the postseason, defeating both teams in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. Appalachian upended the Red Wolves, 79-68, last season.
App State has won four of its previous five games going into the postseason, leading to a 16-13 regular season mark and a 10-8 Sun Belt record. The 16 wins are the most in the
Angel Elderkin era, while the guaranteed winning season is a first for the program since the 2012-13 season. The 10 wins in conference play and the fifth-place finish is the highest since joining the league in 2014-15. The Mountaineers improved their win total by nine games in the regular season and doubled their Sun Belt win total from 2017-18.
Appalachian was picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt by the coaches at the beginning of the season, but thanks to the returning experience, the return of
Madi Story and addition of
Ashley Polacek, the Apps tied for the highest-win improvement in the league.
2019 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Monday, March 11 (First Round/Campus Sites)
G1: No. 9 Arkansas State at No. 8 Coastal Carolina, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
G2: No. 10 Louisiana at No. 7 South Alabama, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, March 13 (Second Round)
G3: No. 5 Appalachian State vs. Winner G1, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
G4: No. 6 Texas State vs. Winner G2, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, March 14 (Semifinals)
G5: No. 4 Georgia State vs. Winner G3, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
G6: No. 3 Troy vs. Winner G4, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, March 15 (Semifinals)
G7: No. 1 Little Rock vs. Winner G5, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
G8: No. 2 UTA vs. Winner G6, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, March 16 (Championship Game)
G9: Winner G7 vs. Winner G8, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN3)
All times are Central time and subject to change.
2019 Tournament Seeds and Sun Belt Records
1. Little Rock (15-3) *
2. UTA (15-3)
3. Troy (13-5)
4. Georgia State (11-7)
5. Appalachian State (10-8)
6. Texas State (9-9) **
7. South Alabama (9-9)
8. Coastal Carolina (8-10)
9. Arkansas State (7-11)
10. Louisiana (5-13)
* Little Rock and UTA finished with identical 15-3 league records. Little Rock defeated UTA in both games this season; therefore, Little Rock earned the No. 1 seed.
** South Alabama and Texas State finished with identical 9-9 league records. Texas State defeated South Alabama in the teams' only matchup this season; therefore, Texas State earned the No. 6 seed.
