BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to host Mercer on Dec. 21 at noon for its holiday game. Fans are encouraged to join the team in wearing their favorite ugly holiday sweaters and the Mountaineers will be giving out free App State Basketball tree ornaments. Santa will also be making a visit to the Holmes Center and will be available to meet with fans on the concourse. The team will also be celebrating World Basketball Day, which is on Thursday.
The team will be honoring App State women's basketball alumnae and 2003 App State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Valorie Whiteside with a moment of silence during Thursday's pregame.The team will also be wearing a patch in her memory. Whiteside played at App State from 1984-88 and was named App State's first All-American in 1985. Whiteside played a pivotal role in being part of the first team in school history to win back-to-back conference championships when App State was in the SoCon. Whiteside remains the program record-holder in many statistical categories, including career points (2,944) and career rebounds (1,369). Whiteside passed away on Dec. 8.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers return to Boone after closing out their three-game road-stretch in Milwaukee, Wis. on Sunday. App State fell to Marquette, 99-91, after a hard-fought battle. Six of eight Mountaineers who saw playing time scored double-figures, led by senior
Faith Alston and junior
Emily Carver, who both netted 19 points. Alston recorded her first double-double of the season, dishing out a career and team-high 10 assists in addition to her 19 points on the day. Sophomore
Rylan Moffitt shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and totaled 13 points on the afternoon. Junior
Samantha LaFon pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to match her career high.
Ranked Mountaineers
For the week of Dec. 11-17, App State ranked third in the Sun Belt and rounded out the top-40 in the NCAA for turnovers forced per game, averaging 22.5 per contest. The Mountaineers also ranked fourth in the SBC for blocks per game (3), free throws made per game (16.5), and offensive rebounds per game (15). Individually, Alston led the SBC and tied for first in the NCAA for total free throws (16). The Centerville, Va. native also checked in at second in the SBC for assists (15) and assists per game (7.5). Alston and Moffitt, who both posted double-doubles on the week, tied for second in the league and eighth in the nation for double-doubles. Moffitt also checked in at second in the conference for field goal percentage (68.8).
On the season, App State ranks third in the league for free throws made per game (15.5). The Mountaineers also rank sixth in the SBC for offensive rebounds per game (15.2) and made 3-pointers per game (5.6). Alston ranks second in the league for free throws and third for assists, recording 43 on the season in both categories. Alston and Carver both stand in the SBC top-10 for points and points per game. Carver checks in at third in the conference for total 3-pointers (23), while Moffitt rounds out the top-five for total rebounds (81).
Last Time Against Mercer
App State last met Mercer on Nov. 11, 2021 in Macon, Ga. The Mountaineers fell to the Bears, 61-57.
Janay Sanders was the Black and Gold's top scorer with 22 points. Carver recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Michaela Porter dished out a team-high three assists.
Scouting Mercer
Mercer is 5-8 (0-0 SoCon) this season and has won its last two games, defeating North Carolina A&T (Dec. 9) and Jacksonville (Dec. 17). The Bears are 1-5 on the road. The Bears opened the season with a road loss to Western Kentucky (Nov. 6) before opening play at the Hawkins Arena with a win against Florida Atlantic (Nov. 9). Mercer then faced four consecutive losses before pulling out a Thanksgiving Day overtime win against Marist at the Savannah Hoops Invitational. Despite dropping a pair of road matches, the Bears came out with a win after battling through double overtime against Austin Peay (Dec. 2).
Briana Peguero and Mackenzie Johnson are the Bears' top scorers, averaging 12.0 and 10.5 points per game. Mercer's top rebounder is Stacie Jones, who pulls down an average of 7.2 per contest. Deja Williams leads the team in the assists category, averaging 2.5 per game.
On the Horizon
App State will open Sun Belt play against Louisiana on Dec. 30 in Lafayette, La. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET). The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
