JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – App State women's basketball edged ETSU in a 69-66 victory on Sunday afternoon at Brooks Gymnasium.
The Mountaineers' win pushes their record to 3-2, while ETSU falls to 1-5 on the season.
Pre Stanley and
Brooke Bigott paced four student-athletes in double figures with 16 points apiece. Stanley shot 6-of-12 from the field, added four rebounds, and dished out three assists. Bigott led the 3-point attack as all five of her field goals were from beyond the arc.
Lainey Gosnell scored 12 points and pulled down six boards (all offensive) while
Janay Sanders scored a season-high 10 points, pacing a bench that outscored ETSU's reserves, 17-8.
Stanley stepped up in the fourth quarter, where she scored the final eight points for App State, highlighted by the eventual game-winning basket with five seconds left in the game with the game tied, 66-66.
After
Faith Alston drew a timely offensive foul on the next possession, Stanley went 1-of-2 from the line. The Bucs had one more chance to tie up the contest, but the 3-point attempt by Jasmine Sanders fell short.
ETSU had come back from a 66-58 deficit with an 8-0 run over a 1:54 span to tie up the game in what was an exciting finish.
The Bucs got off to an early 15-8 advantage in the first 4:14 of the game before Bigott sparked an 8-3 run that cut the deficit to one possession, 18-16, going into the second period. ETSU stayed in front in the second period despite the Apps staying on the Bucs' heels.
Tierra Wilson hit a 3-pointer to cut the ETSU lead to two before halftime.
It wasn't until the Apps were down 43-35 in the third quarter when the Apps got it going with an impressive 22-4 surge over the final 7:52 of the frame. Gosnell broke a 47-47 tie followed by a trifecta from Bigott, a layup by Sanders and
Dane Bertolina got in on the action with a 3-pointer of her own just before time ran out.
ETSU clawed back with five quick points in the early part of the fourth period, dwindling the gap to three. However, the Mountaineers answered right back to push the lead back to seven, 61-54, followed by layups from Sanders and Gosnell.
App State kept the lead to at least five until ETSU's run at the end of the contest.
The Apps controlled the glass with a 46-37 edge on top of 16 offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers also scored 17 points off 22 ETSU miscues.
Appalachian returns to action on Tuesday at noon against Georgia in Athens in the non-conference finale.
Tip-Ins
- App State forced a season-high 22 turnovers.
- Bertolina led the team in plus/minus with a plus-14 in 14 minutes, tying a personal best with five points and grabbing a career-high six boards.
- App State has pulled down at least 16 offensive rebounds in four of five games.
- Appalachian shot 48.6 percent from inside the arc.
- Bigott is averaging 16.5 points and shooting 47.3 percent from deep in two road games this season.
- Stanley is now 13th all-time in scoring with 1,263 points, surpassing Penny Roberson (1,159; 1990-93).
