BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to take on No. 1 seed Marshall in an 11:30 a.m CT (12:30 p.m. ET) quarterfinal clash in the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship on Friday.
Last Time Out
No. 9 seed App State advanced to the quarterfinal after defeating No. 8 seed, Georgia State, 73-68, in the second round of the tournament on Wednesday. Second-Team All-SBC selection senior
Faith Alston led the Black and Gold, netting a career-high 36 points, which is the most points a Mountaineer has scored in a postseason win in program history. Her total also ties her with Maryah Sydnor for eighth-place in the all-time list for single-game scoring leaders. Alston also knocked down four of the Mountaineers' eight treys on Wednesday.
Fifth year senior
Taylor Lewis and sophomore
Rylan Moffitt each pulled down seven rebounds, while sophomore
Alexis Black netted 12 points of her own. App State and Georgia State tied eight times and swapped the lead five times over the course of the game. The Mountaineers recorded 18 second-chance points compared to Georgia State's nine as well as 12 fastbreak points compared to the Panthers' six.
The Mountaineers and Panthers tied seven times in the last seven minutes of play in the fourth quarter, swapping the lead four times. Junior
Emily Carver gave the Mountaineers a 67-66 edge with a free throw. In the last 16 seconds of play, Alston was sent to the line three times and sank six freebies to clinch the Mountaineers' 73-68 victory.
Last Time Against Marshall
App State encountered Marshall twice during the regular season, falling to the Thundering Herd on both occasions.
The Mountaineers last hosted the Thundering Herd on Feb. 15 for Education Day. Black led the charge, netting 24 points on the day and combining with Carver for seven of App State's 12 treys. Carver netted 19 points, while Alston netted 13 points and dished out a team-high six assists. The Black and Gold's top rebounder was Moffitt, who pulled down 14 rebounds. App State shot 41.4% from the arc, 43.5% from the line, and 70.6% from the line. Despite App State's efforts, Marshall took the win, 87-78.
Scouting Marshall
Marshall, which will open tournament play in the quarterfinal round, clinched the regular season crown after going 23-6 overall and 17-1 in conference play. Marshall's sole Sun Belt loss came at the hands of James Madison on Feb. 3. After meeting App State on Feb. 15, the Thundering Herd picked up wins against Old Dominion, Texas State, ULM, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern. Marshall is also ranked 18th in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top-25 this week.
SBC Player of the Year and First-Team selection Abby Beeman is Marshall's top scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game. Beeman also leads the team in the rebounds, assists, and steals categories. Breanna Campbell and Aislynn Hayes average 14.8 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Mahogany Matthews leads the team in the blocked shots category.
On the Horizon
The winner of Friday's game will advance to Sunday's 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET) semifinal game against the winner of game eight, which features No. 4 seed Old Dominion and No. 5 seed ULM. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Full Championship Schedule & Results
Tuesday, March 5 | First Round
Game 1 – (12) Georgia Southern 72, (13) Texas State 70
Game 2 – (11) Coastal Carolina 79, (14) South Alabama 60
Wednesday, March 6 | Second Round
Game 3 – (9) App State 73, (8) Georgia State 68
Game 4 – (5) ULM 78, (12) Georgia Southern 57
Game 5 – (6) Southern Miss 70, (11) Coastal Carolina 53
Game 6 – (7) Louisiana 54, (10) Arkansas State 41
Friday, March 8 | Quarterfinals
Game 7 – (1) Marshall vs. (9) App State – 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 8 – (4) Old Dominion vs. (5) ULM – 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Game 9 – (3) James Madison vs. (6) Southern Miss – 5:00 p.m. CT (6:00 p.m. ET)
Game 10 – (2) Troy vs. (7) Louisiana – 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, March 10 | Semifinals
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Monday, March 11 | Championship
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 1:00 p.m. CT (2:00 p.m. ET)
