BOONE, N.C. – The final week of conference play has arrived, and App State (13-10, 7-3 SBC) hosts league leader Troy (20-7, 11-2 SBC) on Thursday as the teams jockey for seeding in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, to be held March 2-7 in Pensacola, Fla.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022
Tipoff: 6 p.m.
Teams: App State vs. Troy
Location: Boone, N.C. (
Holmes Convocation Center)
TV: ESPN+
Announcers: Kendall Lewis (play-by-play), Dave Thomas (analyst)
Twitter Updates: @AppStateWBB
The Mountaineers enter the week with a two-game win streak and are tied for third in the league standings. The Trojans boast a seven-game win streak. UT Arlington (10-3) is second in the standings, followed by a Texas State (7-3) team that is tied with App State.
The top four teams in the standings at the end of this week will receive a bye into the quarterfinals of the league tournament. App State can mathematically finish anywhere between first and seventh depending on the week's results.
NOTABLES:
• At 7-3, the Mountaineers have their best record through 10 Sun Belt games since joining the league eight years ago.
• The Mountaineers' five-game winning streak in league play was their best since joining the Sun Belt in 2014.
• Last year, the Mountaineers won their final three regular-season games before winning their first two at the Sun Belt Tournament. In their last 16 games against Sun Belt opponents dating back to last year, the Mountaineers are 12-4.
• App State forces 20.3 turnovers per game, good for 21st in the nation and second in the SBC.
• The Mountaineers are not afraid to shoot from deep, topping the Sun Belt and ranking 35th in the country with 638 3-point attempts this season.
• Last time out,
Janay Sanders scored a career-high 25 points and App State won a matchup of third-place Sun Belt teams with a 73-55 victory over Texas State, the Mountaineers' largest margin of victory against a league foe this year.
•
Alexia Allesch, a transfer from Seton Hall, leads the team with 13.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She has been on fire in Sun Belt play, averaging 15.9 points (6th in SBC) and 9.9 boards (3rd in SBC) per outing.
• Preseason All-Sun Belt third teamer
Michaela Porter averages 13.2 points (7th in SBC), 6.6 rebounds (10th) and a league-best 2.5 steals.
•
Janay Sanders is third on the team and ranks 8th in the Sun Belt with 12.9 ppg, including a career-high 25 points against Texas State.
• Freshman
Emily Carver averages 9.9 ppg and ranks second among all Sun Belt players with 1.8 three's made per game.
•
Faith Alston sets the table with a team-high 3.4 assists per outing, sixth-best in the Sun Belt.
• This is the 17th matchup between the Mountaineers and Trojans. App State trails 14-2 in the series. Troy won four of five matchups last season, including a 66-63 decision in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament in which App State had a 3-pointer go in-and-out at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
• Head coach
Angel Elderkin is in her eighth season at the helm and is looking to lead App State to its second straight winning season and third in four years.
