ARLINGTON, Texas – App State had its five-game winning streak snapped, while UT Arlington extended its own streak to five wins in an 88-79 game against two of the Sun Belt Conference's top women's basketball squads Sunday afternoon.
Trailing for the majority of the contest, the Mountaineers (11-9, 5-2 SBC) went on one of their patented second-half runs to pull all the way within two points at 73-71 with 2:37 left in a game that was delayed one day due to App State's travel to a winter storm-affected north Texas region.
Behind strong free-throw shooting, UTA (14-5, 8-2 SBC) was able to hold on down the stretch and not let the Mountaineers get any closer.
Freshman
Emily Carver led App State with a career-high 21 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter as the Black and Gold made their late charge.
Janay Sanders added 16 points, and
Faith Alston chipped in 15 for a Mountaineers team that scored 56 points in the paint, routinely driving and dishing through the Lady Mavs defense for easy layups.
Alexia Allesch notched her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She and
Michaela Porter – App State's top two scorers on the season – both fouled out with around two minutes left in the game, leaving a younger and smaller squad on the floor to attempt the comeback victory on the road for a second straight outing.
Down 44-34 at the half, the Mountaineers went on a 13-4 run to close the third quarter and pull within seven points at 60-53 heading into the final frame. Behind Carver's strong shooting and a clutch Porter trey, App State was down by just three points at the 4:23 mark in the fourth.
It remained a one- or two-possession for the next few minutes until UTA's free-throw shooting in the final 30 seconds extended its lead back out to the final margin of nine. Sanders, who scored App State's last six points in a 70-68 comeback win at Coastal Carolina last time out, made short field goals with 17 and 13 seconds left in Arlington in an effort to repeat the same outcome.
Starr Jacobs, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, scored 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting for the home team.
App State continues its four-game road swing with a trip to the Peach State this week. The Mountaineers will face Georgia Southern on Thursday and Georgia State on Saturday. Both games will air on ESPN+.
