CONWAY, S.C. – Janay Sanders and her App State teammates were not going to lose this one. Sanders scored the last six points of a 14-1 run that sent the Mountaineers to a 70-68 road win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
Despite trailing by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter, App State (11-8, 5-1 SBC) won its fifth straight game and remains atop the Sun Belt Conference standings. The five-game winning streak and 5-1 start in league play are the Mountaineers' best since joining the Sun Belt in 2014.
"We talked a lot about composure heading into today's game, and I thought our team stayed in the fight for 40 minutes," said App State head coach
Angel Elderkin. "Having not led the entire game and to be able to win on the road speaks to our toughness. I'm really proud of our collective effort on both sides of the ball. This team continues to grow."
Coastal Carolina (12-6, 2-5) led 61-46 at the start of the fourth quarter, but App State's offense started clicking and its defense clamped down as the Mountaineers outscored the Chanticleers 24-7 over the final 10 minutes.
With App State trailing 68-64, Sanders drew a foul with 46.5 seconds left and knocked down both free throws to make it a one-possession game. The Mountaineer defense forced a shot-clock violation on the Chanticleers' ensuing possession to give App State the ball down two with 16.5 seconds on the clock.
Sanders drove down the lane and buried a layup with 11.7 seconds left to tie the game for the first time all day at 68-68.
With a chance to take the winning shot at home, Coastal Carolina had the ball stripped by
Faith Alston, and then Sanders once again drove right into the teeth of the Chanticleer defense and rose up for the game-winning floater as the last few seconds ticked off the clock.
Sanders and
Alexia Allesch paced the Black and Gold with 18 points apiece, with Sanders adding a team-high four steals and Allesch pulling down a team-best eight rebounds. Alston scored 13 points, and App State won despite Coastal Carolina shooting 51 percent from the field.
The Mountaineers became the first team this season to out-rebound the Chanticleers, doing so by a 37-33 margin.
App State continues its four-game road swing next Saturday against UT Arlington (3 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
