BOONE, N.C. – Michaela Porter scored a career-high 21 points,
Faith Alston added a career-high 17 and
Janay Sanders also added 17 as App State overpowered North Carolina Central 80-66 on Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center.
The Mountaineers (2-1) scored their most points since an 81-78 win over Georgia Southern on Feb. 27 last season and have won their first two home games for the second straight year.
App State made five of 23 three-point attempts – a season low – but more than made up for it with a plethora of transition buckets and a whopping 42 points in the paint against the Eagles (0-2) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
"A lot of our points were generated from our defense," said head coach
Angel Elderkin. "At one point, we had 30 deflections. They were leading to easy runouts. Our team has grown in that area. Also with the press, I just thought our team was very sharp on how to break the press."
Porter eclipsed her previous career high of 17 points when she tallied 19 in the first half Sunday before finishing with 21 points and adding 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line and added two steals and two assists.
As a team, App State got to the foul line regularly and made 19 of 28 attempts.
"I told our team, we want to shoot the three, and we want to make three's, but we have to get to the free-throw line," Elderkin said. "I thought we were more aggressive (today). We're trying to really get a combination of both."
One game after scoring a career-high 22 points at Mercer, Sanders was active again with 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field, while pulling down five rebounds. She got the Mountaineers off to a fast start early, scoring the first four points of the game and all eight of App State's first points on a quartet of slicing layups.
Alston eclipsed her previous career high of 13 points by making 6-of-12 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and 3-of-3 free throws.
Emily Carver scored 11 points, and
Brooke Bigott added seven points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists.
After building a commanding 34-19 lead at the 4:14 mark of the second quarter, the Mountaineers went cold from the field, but still managed keep their double-digit advantage thanks to making six of seven free throws down the stretch before halftime.
A fast-paced third quarter saw App State force seven turnovers and convert them into 10 points, largely in the form of steals and fast-break layups. App State enjoyed its largest lead of the game at 23 points (70-47) with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter before cruising to the finish line.
Angel Elderkin's team is on the road next for a Wednesday matchup with the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., televised by ACC Network Extra.
