BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team opened Sun Belt play on Sunday with a 77-62 victory over Arkansas State in the Holmes Center. App State improves to 5-6 (1-0 SBC) on the season and marked its third consecutive victory over Arkansas State in its series with the Red Wolves.
"I am really really proud of our team," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "I told them after the game that they won this game in the last three days. They have come back since Christmas break, sometimes Christmas break is hard. Obviously going into it with a win is nice. I told them just take four days off. Don't shoot a ball, just really take some time to rejuvenate and then come back and hunt that first game. Our practices have been amazing. Their effort, their energy, their togetherness, you saw all that today on the floor and that's why we won the game.
For a second consecutive game, senior
Mara Neira led the Mountaineers, netting a season high 20 points. Neira drained four of App State's five treys on the afternoon and made four of App State's six steals. Junior
Rylan Moffitt netted 13 points, which was three away from her career high of 16, set on Jan. 27, 2024 at JMU. Moffitt drained 6-of-8 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, and made one block. In the rebounds category, junior
Elena Pericic led the Mountaineers for a second consecutive game with nine rebounds. She also netted 10 points on the afternoon. Senior
Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team high seven assists and combined with fellow senior
Emily Carver for 18 points, each netting nine.
App State shot 55.6% from the field, scoring 48 points in the paint. The Mountaineers also netted 41 points off the bench and 21 fastbreak points. The Black and Gold made 18 assists compared to Arkansas State's eight. App State also made three blocks to the Red Wolves' one.
In the first quarter, App State and Arkansas State knotted the score twice and swapped the lead on five occasions. Carver and senior
Asjah Inniss combined for 12 of App State's 22 points in the quarter. Carver put the Mountaineers on the board with a trey, cutting the Red Wolves' early lead to one (4-3). App State took a 7-6 edge after layups from Tafisi and Carver. After tying at 10 all, The Mountaineers established a 17-13 lead after layups from Moffitt and Inniss and a trey from Neira. Arkansas State knocked down a trey to cut the Mountaineers' lead to one (17-16). App State took a 22-16 lead after capping the quarter with a 5-0 run that included a freebie from senior
J'Mani Ingram and a pair of fastbreak layups from Moffitt and Carver.
Despite opening the second quarter with a scoring drought, Pericic found the hoop with a pair of layups and Tafisi landed a jumper to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 28-22. Layups from Neira and Carver extended App State's lead to 32-24. Late in the quarter, Neira drained a trey as the Mountaineer took a 35-29 lead at the half. Pericic and Neira combined for nine of App State's 13 points in the quarter.
The Black and Gold outscored the Red Wolves 24-10 in the third quarter. Twenty of App State's points were scored in the paint, with 10 made off fastbreaks. App State didn't allow any points in the paint or second chance points for the Red Wolves over the course of the period. The Mountaineers also shot 62.5% from the field. The Mountaineers went on a 12-1 run over 3:09, which featured three consecutive layups from Moffitt. Pericic, Neira, and Porter also made it to the hoop for layups during the scoring run, extending App State's lead to 56-38. Porter pushed the Mountaineers ahead, 59-39, with a tip-in layup to close the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, App State shot 100% from the field and arc as well as 75% from the line. Neira, who opened the period with a trey, netted eight points in the fourth quarter, shooting 100% from the arc and line. Porter sank a jumper to extend the deficit to 64-44. With a pair of Tafisi freebies, Neira's second trey of the quarter, and a layup in the paint from Moffitt, App State led 71-51. Neira and Porter each drained a pair of free throws and with 0:10 left on the clock, Ingram made a layup to seal the win for the Mountaineers, 77-62.
Up Next
The Mountaineers travel to Mobile, Ala. to take on South Alabama on Jan. 2 before heading to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on Southern Miss on Jan. 4. Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) tipoffs and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
