BOONE, N.C. - App State women's basketball suffered a 66-63 setback to South Alabama on Friday evening at the Holmes Center.
App State falls to 5-6 and 2-3 in the Sun Belt, while South Alabama improves to 7-4 and 4-1 in league play. The weekend finale takes place tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Pre Stanley scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field with 13 coming in the second half. Stanley also pulled down five boards.
Lainey Gosnell recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Gosnell's second trifecta at the buzzer at the end of the contest made her the 27th member of the 1,000-point club. Tierra Wilson rounded out the leading scorers with a season-high 11 points on top of three trifectas.
The senior trio scored 44 of the team's points and 17 of the Apps' field goals.
With the Apps trailing 57-51 in the fourth quarter, Wilson ignited a 7-0 run that gave the Apps a 58-57 lead with 1:38 left in the game. Stanley scored the next two baskets for App, while the defense played a pivotal role holding South Alabama to a 4:48 scoreless drought.
The Jags hit a pair at the line before Stanley's layup gave the Mountaineers the lead back with under two minutes to play. However, App State missed four straight shots that led to the Jags ending the game on a 7-3 run to seal the win.
App State came back by as much as 13 points in the second quarter after South Alabama held the Apps to just 11 points in the frame. The Jags used a 9-0 spurt to take a 34-21 advantage with 3:18 left in the first half.
Dane Bertolina's 3-pointer and a field goal by Wilson got the Apps to within single digits going into the break, 36-28.
App State continued to claw back in the third quarter despite South Alabama staying in front. The duo of Maya Calder and Bertolina gave the Black and Gold a spark at the end of the period with five straight points after the Jags' were up 46-39. Calder nailed two free throws at the line and Bertolina drained her second 3-pointer at the buzzer going into the fourth.
Four lead changes and eight ties highlighted the first quarter as neither team taking the lead by more than two points, which led to a 17-17 first quarter.
South Alabama had two players score in double figures with Savannah Jones scoring 18 off the bench. Jaylen Mallard put in 15 points with seven off the glass.
The Apps pulled down 17 offensive rebounds and held an 18-9 advantage in second-chance points. App State also scored 16 points off of South Alabama's miscues. But the Jags held a 20-8 edge in free throws, attempting 28 foul shots to the Black and Gold's 14.
Tip-Ins
- Four players have now scored 1,000 points under coach Elderkin (Joi Jones, Madi Story, Pre Stanley, Lainey Gosnell).
- Bertolina (six points) and Calder (six points) combined for all 12 of the reserves' points.
- Calder led the team in plus/minus at plus-9 in 7:30 of action.
