BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to open its four-game road stretch on Thursday as it heads to San Marcos, Texas to take on Texas State at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers (5-8, 1-1 SBC) hosted Marshall on New Year's Eve, falling to the Thundering Herd, 59-52. Redshirt senior
Janay Sanders scored a team-high 16 points on the afternoon, while sophomore
Emily Carver recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Carver also shot 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Around the Conference
For the season as a whole, App State ranks third in the league for 3-pointers made (7.0 per game) and fifth for scoring (70.2 points per game). Sanders checks in at eighth for scoring, with an average 14.5 points per game this season.
In league-only stats, App State leads the Sun Belt in steals, averaging 11.5 per game. App State stands third in the SBC for team field goal percentage (.429) as well as team free throw percentage (.786). The Mountaineers are fourth for 3-pointers made (7.5 per contest). Junior
Faith Alston and Sanders stand fourth and fifth, respectively, in the steals category. In individual field goal percentage, Sanders checks in at sixth (.522) with Alston and freshman
Alexis Black following close behind at eighth (.500) and ninth (.476), respectively. Alston also ranks eighth in assists, averaging four per game in league play.
Last Time Against Texas State
App State last met Texas State on Feb. 19, 2021, in Boone. The Mountaineers defeated the Bobcats, 73-55, with three Mountaineers scoring double figures. Sanders led the charge with a team-high 25 points, sinking 7-of-11 free throws and 9-of-13 field goals. She also dished out a team-high three assists.
Michaela Porter earned a double-double after scoring 13 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Scouting Texas State
Texas State is 9-4 (1-1 SBC) so far this season and 7-1 at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats opened league play with an 82-70 road win against Georgia Southern last Thursday, before falling to Troy, 79-63, on Saturday. In nonconference play, Texas State notched three consecutive wins from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, and won two games with scores over 100 points.
Tianna Eaton is the Bobcats' top scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game. Eaton also leads the team in blocked shots, totaling 16 on the season. Ja'Kayla Bowie is the Bobcats' strongest free throw shooter, shooting .800 from the charity stripe. Leading the team in assists is Kennedy Taylor, who dishes out an average of 5.9 per game. Taylor also boasts the team's top 3-point percentage (.412). Texas State's top rebounder is Da'Nasia Hood, who averages 8.3 rebounds per game.
Last year, Texas State went 15-14 (9-6 SBC). In the Sun Belt Tournament, the No. 6 seeded Bobcats defeated No. 11 seed South Alabama before falling to No. 3 seed Louisiana in the quarterfinals. During regular season league play, Texas State went on a five-game win-streak from Jan. 27 to Feb. 12, picking up wins over Little Rock, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana, and ULM, before App State snapped the streak on Feb. 19.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will continue their road stretch as they travel to Jonesboro, Ark. to clash with Arkansas State on Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
