ASHEVILLE, N.C. – App State jumped out to a 12-0 lead and stayed in front wire-to-wire in a 71-56 win at UNC Asheville on Sunday.
Four Mountaineers (4-3) finished in double figures as they claimed their first road win of the young season.
Alexia Allesch scored a career-high 18 points, and
Emily Carver returned to her hometown to pour in a career-high 16 points.
Michaela Porter and
Janay Sanders added 11 and 10, respectively.
"Today was a gritty win for our basketball team," said App State head coach
Angel Elderkin. "I'm proud of us for persevering though adversity and responding with a big fourth quarter. Freshman
Emily Carver showed a ton of toughness for us to help us get our first road win of the year."
App State won its third straight over its fellow school from the western North Carolina mountains and now leads the all-time series with UNCA 17-4.
The Mountaineers used an explosive scoring attack to put 12 quick points on the board, while their defense held the Bulldogs (3-3) without a basket for nearly the first six minutes of the game.
It was 19-8 after the first quarter and 31-19 at halftime. UNCA made a strong second-half push to pull within two points at 47-45 early in the fourth quarter, but App State utilized good ball movement and pressure defense to extend its lead back out to 15 by the final buzzer.
Allesch shot an incredibly efficient 7-of-8 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line for the Seton Hall transfer's best offensive performance as a Mountaineer. Making her first appearance in Asheville since starring as Enka High School's all-time leading scorer, Carver eclipsed her previous career high of 12 points by pouring in 16 on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 from three and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
App State shot 43.1% for the game while holding UNCA to 37.5%. The Mountaineers got nine 3-pointers from six different players and outscored the Bulldogs 24-7 off the bench.
Elderkin's team will return to Boone for a Wednesday afternoon game against East Tennessee State. Tipoff for the front end of a women's and men's doubleheader is slated for 5 p.m., televised on ESPN+.
