ATLANTA - Led by two incredible performances from
Lainey Gosnell and
Bayley Plummer, App State women's basketball edged Georgia State 64-59 in overtime at the GSU Sports Arena.
App State is 5-2 over its last seven games, improving to 9-16 and 6-8 in league action. Georgia State falls to 8-17 and 5-9 in league action.
The two posts of Gosnell and Plummer dominated the game with a combined 40 points and 31 rebounds, hitting 15 of App State's 24 field goals and seven of 10 free throws.
Gosnell poured in a season-high 24 points while it was a personal best on the road for her career. The junior shot 10-of-20 (7-of-8 inside the arc) and grabbed seven off the glass. Fifteen of Gosnell's points came in the second half and overtime.
Plummer posted a season-best 16 points and grabbed a personal-high 24 rebounds for her sixth double-double the season. The 24 rebounds are the second most in a game in school history and the third-highest outing in a game this season in the country. The senior also had three blocks and three assists.
Trailing 59-55 with 4:10 left in the game following two 3-pointers by Jada Lewis and Kamryn Dziak, App State finished the game on a 9-0 run to snap GSU's four-game win streak and sweep the season series. App shot 5-of-7 in overtime and forced the Panthers to miss their last five shot attempts of the game.
Brooke Bigott played big down the stretch, scoring five of her eight points in overtime, starting the 9-0 stretch and ending it when she hit a clutch 3-pointer with the time winding down to push the lead to 64-59 with 16 seconds left in the game.
Georgia State came back in the fourth quarter to eventually take a 53-51 lead with 1:11 left regulation.
Ashley Polacek, who led the team with six assists on top of eight points, came down for a pull-up jumper to tie up the game and force overtime. App State had a chance to win the contest in the fourth, but Polacek's layup fell short.
The Mountaineers had a slow start on offense, scoring only eight points in the opening period, which led to a Georgia State lead by seven.
App State's offense came alive by outscoring the hosts 23-8 in the second quarter, highlighted by a 17-4 run after facing a 17-13 deficit in the early goings of the frame. With App State holding a 30-23 advantage, Polacek hit a jumper to give the visitors a nine-point edge going into the half.
Appalachian stayed in front of the Panthers despite GSU coming to within one possession, 37-35, with 2:36 left in the third. Five straight points by Gosnell and Plummer to end the quarter gave the Black and Gold a 42-35 lead going into the fourth.
A 12-5 run by the Panthers tied up the contest 47-47 with just over six minutes left in regulation, leading to an exciting finish that went in App's favor in the end.
After the win, App State is tied for seventh with Arkansas State after the Red Wolves' loss to South Alabama.
The Mountaineers aim for the Georgia sweep on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Georgia Southern in Statesboro.
