BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (19-14) is seeking a WBI Final Four appearance on Monday when it hosts Marshall (17-14) on Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. inside the Holmes Center.
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About the Mountaineers
Last Time Out
App State earned its 19th victory and seventh win in the past nine contests over UNC Asheville in a physical 57-55 triumph on the road. With 1:20 left in the contest,
Pre Stanley broke a 53-53 tie with a clutch 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers a commanding 56-53. Stanley later hit a free throw to give the Black and Gold a 57-53 edge. The Bulldogs had a chance to tie up the game after hitting a pair of free throws, but the final shot didn't get off in time.
Madi Story (18 points),
Ashley Polacek (16 points) and Stanley (15 points) shouldered the scoring load by combining for 49 points, including the final 15 points of the game for the Mountaineers.
Hitting a Milestone
After snagging a game-high 13 rebounds,
Bayley Plummer is now just three rebounds shy surpassing Shannon Thomas (927;1988-92) for fourth all-time in career boards. It would give Plummer 930 rebounds and counting for her career.
What to Watch for
- Over the Marshall's last five losses during its 3-5 stretch, opponents have assisted on 61 percent of their field goals. Watch if App can get the ball moving on offense for easy shots.
- During the 7-2 stretch, the Mountaineers have held their opponents to 60 points or less in six of the victories, limiting offenses to 35.9 percent shooting from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc. See if the defense can continue its solid play.
- Shayna Gore has scored in double figures in 26 straight games. The last time she didn't score at least 10 points was against the Mountaineers. Watch if the defense can contain the potent scorer.
- In two games against Marshall,
Bayley Plummer is averaging 16 points, 19.5 rebounds, three blocks and shooting 59 percent from the field. See if the junior continues to dominate down low against the Thundering Herd.
- In the first game, the bench scored 29 points with
Nicola Mathews and
Tierra Wilson hitting five of the Mountaineers' seven threes. Watch if the reserves can give Appalachian a spark.
Scouting Marshall
- Marshall defeated Davidson, 67-64, in the first round of the WBI, improving to 17-14 on the season.
- Marshall went 10-6 in conference play for a fifth-place finish in Conference USA.
- Four players led the team in scoring with Shayna Gore registering 19 points and Khadaija Brooks tallying 15 points.
- The Thundering Herd finished fifth in Conference USA with a 10-6 mark.
- Shayna Gore is a lethal scorer for Marshall, as her 20.6 points per game are 24th in the nation and second in C-USA.
- Taylor Porter is second on the team in scoring with a clip of 12.3 ppg.
- Together, Gore and Porter have hit 159 of Marshall's 260 3-pointers.
- Gore also leads the team in assists at 3.3 per game, while Khadaija Brooks is pulling down a team-high 6.2 rpg.
- Marshall is 27th in the country hitting 8.4 3-pointers per game.
Series History
App State is 24-19 all-time after defeating Marshall earlier this season inside the Holmes Center. 74-52. The Black and Gold was led by Plummer, who scored 16 points and totaled a career-high 21 rebounds with three blocks.
Madi Story
scored 15 points while
Nicola Mathews led a bench attack that scored 29 points. Mathews registered a season-high 11 points in the win.
What's Next
With a win, App State would advance to the WBI Final Four to face either Tennessee Tech or Campbell. The game would be played on March 29 or March 30.
