BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team will host Texas State on Thursday for its first home Sun Belt clash of the new year. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Thursday is National Trivia Day and fans will be able to answer trivia questions throughout the game for a chance to win a prize.
Last Time Out
The Black and Gold closed out 2023 and opened Sun Belt competition with a 69-56 road win over Louisiana on Dec. 30. Sophomore Chaé Harris led the team with 22 points, matching her career-high, which she set in her collegiate debut last season. Harris accounted for six of the Mountaineers' nine 3-point buckets and pulled down six rebounds. Her efforts on the court earned her her first career Sun Belt Player of the Week accolade and the Mountaineers' second conference Player of the Week highlight of the 2023-24 campaign.
Senior
Faith Alston netted 12 points, drilling 5-of-6 from the line and dishing out four assists. Graduate student
Mariah Frazier scored a career-high 10 points for the Mountaineers, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, and pulled down six rebounds. Sophomore
Rylan Moffitt was the Black and Gold's top rebounder for a seventh game of the season, pulling down nine.
Ranked Mountaineers
For the week of Dec. 25 to Dec. 31, Harris led the Sun Belt and ranked 12th nationally in the made 3-pointers category. She also rounded out the top-10 in the SBC for points, points per game, and blocks per game. Frazier led the league in field goal percentage and stood fourth in the SBC for blocks and blocks per game. App State led the league for scoring defense and field goal percentage. The Black and Gold ranked second for assists per game and third in turnovers forced per game in the SBC.
On the season, Alston checks in at second in the Sun Belt for free throws and third in the league for assists and steals. She also stands fourth in the conference for assists per game and rounds out the top-five for points, points per game, and steals per game. Moffitt stands second in the SBC for rebounds per game and rounds out the top-five for blocks per game. App State stands third in the Sun Belt for free throws made per game and rounds out the top-30 nationally. The Mountaineers also rank fifth in the league for turnovers forced per game.
Last Time Against Texas State
App State last met Texas State in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinal on Mar. 3, 2023 after defeating No. 7 seed Louisiana in the second round. The No. 10 seeded Mountaineers battled against the No. 2 seeded Bobcats, but fell, 56-47.
Alexis Black and
Janay Sanders each netted 11 points on the evening, while
A'Lea Gilbert pulled down six rebounds and Alston dished out four assists.
Scouting Texas State
Texas State is 9-4 (0-1 SBC) so far this season and comes to Boone after opening conference play with a narrow loss to Georgia Southern on Dec. 30. Georgia Southern snapped the Bobcats' four-game win-streak that had lasted from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20. In non-conference play, Texas State clinched an overtime victory over UTSA (Nov. 30) and opened the season with three consecutive wins, defeating Arlington Baptist, MAC opponent Bowling Green, and UTRGV.
Ja'Niah Henson is the Bobcats' top scorer, averaging 13.6 points per contest. Henson maintains a 3-point percentage of 43.6% and a free throw percentage of 92.5%. Henson is followed by Timia Jefferson, who averages 11.9 points per game. Texas State's top rebounder is Tiffany Tullis, who averages 7.8 rebounds per contest.
Last season, Texas State split the Sun Belt regular season title with James Madison and Southern Miss. The Bobcats entered the Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 2 seed and finished the tournament as the SBC runner-up after falling to JMU. Texas State finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 89-79 loss to Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the WNIT on March 16.
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will remain in Boone as they host South Alabama on Jan. 6. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
