LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - App State women's basketball fell in a narrow 68-63 contest to Little Rock on Saturday afternoon in the Jack Stephens Center.
The Mountaineers fall to 4-14 (1-6 SBC) on the season, while Little Rock improves to 8-11 and 6-2 in league action.
Ashley Polacek scored 18 of her team-high 21 points in the third and fourth quarters, shooting 6-of-8 from the field. It's the fourth 20-point outing for the senior, with all of her highest scoring performances coming on the road. Polacek posted a team-high four assists as well.
Lainey Gosnell poured in a season-high 19 points on six field goals, three trifectas and four free throws. Gosnell added six rebounds and dished out three assists. The junior bounced back from a 1-of-9 start to shoot 5-for-11 the rest of the game.
Pre Stanley rounded out the leaders with 10 points, while
Bayley Plummer posted eight points and grabbed nine off the glass.
The Apps had the defending Sun Belt Tournament champs on the ropes, taking a lead by as much as seven in the third quarter on two occasions.
App State hit three of its first four shots coming out of the break after Gosnell hit a layup, bringing the score to 35-28. However, LR answered when it held the Black and Gold scoreless for a span of 3:37 following a pair of Stanley free throws.
The drought aided Little Rock's 12-0 that gave the hosts a 44-37 advantage. Polacek buried a 3-pointer with under a minute left to slice the gap to 44-40.
Little Rock took a lead by as much as eight, 54-46, with 4:10 left in the game. App State didn't go quietly, as it brought the gap to as low as three when Polacek canned a trey with four seconds left. It was too little, too late when the Trojans hit two at the line to seal the victory.
App State held an 11-2 edge in second-chance points (12-6 on the offensive glass), and a 10-2 advantage in bench points.
The Mountaineers held a 26-24 lead going after the first two quarters of play, containing the leading scorers of Kyra Collier and Teal Battle to just 14 points combined. Collier/Battle scored 28 in the second half on 9-of-15 shooting.
App State will return home on Thursday to face Georgia State at 6:30 p.m. before welcoming rival Georgia Southern on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the annual Pink Game.
