BOONE, N.C. – App State sent out its seniors in style Saturday with a dominating 72-50 win over South Alabama to clinch a top-four finish in the Sun Belt standings on the final day of the regular season.
The Mountaineers, who matched a school record with 15 3-pointers against the Jaguars, finish the regular season with a 14-11 overall record and 8-4 mark in league play. It's the team's best Sun Belt record and standing since joining the league in 2014-15 and clinches either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed (depending on Saturday's other results around the league) in next week's conference tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
Seton Hall transfer
Alexia Allesch had a monster performance with career highs in points (24), rebounds (19) and 3-pointers (5) to pace the Black and Gold. It was her 10th double-double of the season, which ranks top three among Sun Belt players. She also added three blocks and two assists on the afternoon.
Michaela Porter scored nine points while adding nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Faith Alston also contributed nine points, as nine different players scored and seven different players drained a 3-point basket. Those seven players that combined to match the school record for three's in a game included Allesch (5 of 12), Porter (2 of 3),
Brooke Bigott (2 of 5),
Emily Carver (2 of 4),
Breanna Locke (2 of 2), Alston (1 of 4) and
Dane Bertolina (1 of 6).
The Mountaineers turned a four-point halftime lead into an 18-point advantage with a sensational third quarter in which they outscored the Jaguars 24-10 and drained six of their eight field goals from behind the arc.
Allesch's 19 rebounds helped App State own the battle of the boards by a +18 margin (52 to 34). Her 19 boards were the most by an App State player since
Bayley Plummer had 21 against Coastal Carolina in the 2020 regular-season finale.
The official Sun Belt Conference tournament bracket will be released soon.
