BOONE, N.C. — The App State women's basketball team (3-5) is set to travel to Durham, N.C., to take on North Carolina Central (3-7) on Thursday. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m, and the game will be available for streaming on the NCCU Sport Network.
Last Time Out
App State defeated Johnson C. Smith, 107-52, on Dec. 10, for its first triple-digit game in head coach
Angel Elderkin's tenure and first triple-digit game at the Holmes Center since Nov. 29, 2010. Every Mountaineer that hit the court scored, with sophomore
Emily Carver and graduate student
Brooke Bigott leading the charge by netting 15 points each. Freshman
Alexis Black pulled down a team-high and career-high eight rebounds and went 3 of 4 from the free throw line.
App State is second in the Sun Belt for 3-pointers made, averaging 7.6 per game. Carver leads the Mountaineers in 3-pointers, tallying 12 so far this season. Redshirt senior
Janay Sanders, the Mountaineers' top scorer, ranks sixth in the league for her FG percentage (.421) and seventh for scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game.
Last Time Against North Carolina Central
App State last met NC Central on Nov. 14, 2021, defeating the Eagles 80-66 in Boone.
Michaela Porter recorded a double double, leading the Mountaineers in points (21) and rebounds (10).
Faith Alston and Sanders followed Porter, netting 17 points each.
Scouting North Carolina Central
NC Central is 3-7 (0-0 MEAC) this season. The Eagles opened the season with a 69-56 victory over Johnson C. Smith (Nov. 7) and snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over NC Wesleyan (Nov. 22). NCCU also posted a road win over Chicago State (Dec. 3) before falling to Memphis (Dec. 8).
Jerni Kiaku is the Eagles' top scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game, while Blessing Okoh leads the team in rebounds, averaging 5.2 per game. Kira Lowery and Tippy Robertson split the lead in the assists category, each tallying 27 on the season for an average of 2.7 per game.
Last season, NCCU went 5-20 (3-11 MEAC). In the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament, the No. 7 seeded Eagles fell to No. 2 seed Norfolk State, 58-52. During the regular season, NC Central posted wins over Johnson & Wales, Delaware State, St. Andrews and South Carolina State.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on Big Ten contender Michigan, ranked 19th nationally, on Dec. 17 at noon. The game will be available for streaming on B1G+.
App State will close out nonconference action at Holmes on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. as it hosts Gardner-Webb. The game will be the Mountaineers' Ugly Sweater Game. Fans can enter the ugly sweater contest for a chance to win a new set of airpods. Santa will also make an appearance and be available for photos.
