BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to take on Marshall in a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday in Huntington, W.Va.
Last Time Out
App State fell short to Old Dominion, 78-71, in the Monarchs' realm on Wednesday. Senior
Zada Porter led the Mountaineers in scoring, matching her career high of 23 points, while also tying her career high of 10 rebounds which was her first double-double of the year. She also dished out six assists, which was two short of her career high of eight. Junior
Rylan Moffitt swatted a career- and team-high five blocks and came within one of her own career high, netting 15 points. Senior
Emily Carver netted 14 points while fellow senior
Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high nine assists. Wednesday marked the second time this season that Tafisi has come within one of her career-high in the assists category.
Around the Mountain
Porter and Carver are the Mountaineers' top scorers, averaging 10.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Porter also leads the team in the assists category, dishing out an average of 3.3 assists per game. Junior
Elena Pericic and Moffitt lead App State in the rebounds category, averaging 4.7 and 4.6 rebounds per game, respectively. Additionally, Moffitt leads the team in blocks, totaling 13 on the season. Senior
Mara Neira leads the Mountaineers in steals, averaging 1.9 per contest.
In conference-only play, Tafisi leads the league in assists (6.3). Moffitt rounds out the league's top-five in blocked shots, averaging 1.3 per conference contest. App State leads the league in assists, averaging 18.83 per conference clash. The Mountaineers also rank third in team field-goal percentage (44.1%) and team 3-point percentage (35.1%), as well as sitting fourth in steals, averaging 8.83 per conference contest. App State rounds out the league's top-five in scoring offense (72.8), 3-pointers made per game (7.8) and combined team rebounds (39.7).
App State leads the league and ranks 38th in the NCAA in assists per game (16.6) on the season thus far. The Mountaineers also lead the SBC in field goal percentage (43.3%). In the bench points per game category, the Black and Gold rank second in the SBC and 14th in the NCAA, averaging 29.4 points per game off the bench. Additionally, App State ranks third in the SBC in defensive rebounds per game (27.3) and fourth in 3-pointers per game (7.3). Individually, Neira rounds out the Sun Belt's top-five in 3-point percentage (36.3%) and ranks among the league's top-10 in 3-pointers per game (2.06) and steals per game (1.88). Porter stands seventh in assists per game (3.3).
Series History vs. Marshall
App State leads Marshall, 25-24, in the series against the Thundering Herd. The Mountaineers and Thundering Herd last met in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Sun Belt Tournament (Mar. 8).
J'Mani Ingram led the No. 9 seed Mountaineers with 20 points, coming within three of her career high against the No. 1 seeded Marshall. Carver,
Taylor Lewis, and
Alexis Black each netted 10 points. Carver also drained three of App State's five 3-point buckets. Mofftt led the team with nine rebounds.
Scouting Marshall
Marshall enters Saturday's contest with a 5-12 record. The Thundering Herd is seeking their first conference win of the season after dropping all six of their league games so far. The defending Sun Belt Champions fell short to Toledo in their season opener and first MAC-SBC Challenge game of the season. The Thundering Herd went 1-1 at the 2024 State Farm WBCA Showcase (Nov. 21-23), falling short to Penn State before clinching an 84-80 overtime victory over Tulsa. Marshall also recorded nonconference wins over Elon (Nov. 13), Salem (Dec. 1), Jacksonville (Dec. 13) and Davis & Elkins (Dec. 21).
Aislynn Hayes, Meredith Maier, and CC Mays are the Thundering Herd's top scorers. Hayes averages 16.7 points per game, followed by Maier (11.1 points per game) and Mayes (10.0 points per game). Maier also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 5.4 per contest. Madison Kellione leads the team in assists (2.9 per game) and steals (2.1 per game).
Marshall ranks fourth in the SBC in 3-pointers made, averaging 8.2 per conference contest. Hayes rounds out the SBC's top-five in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per conference matchup. She also rounds out the league's top-eight in field goal percentage (33.7%). Mays rounds out the conference's top-five in free throw percentage, shooting 90.0% from the line in conference play.
For the season, Maier leads the league and stands in the NCAA's top-26 in 3-pointers (46) and 3-pointers per game (2.71) on the season thus far. Hayes leads the league in points per game (16.7) and ranks second in total points (267) on the year. Marshall ranks second in the Sun Belt and 10th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (9.8) and rounds out the league's top-five in offensive rebounds per game (13.5), steals per game (8.9), and 3-point percentage (32.2%).
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers return to Boone for a four-game homestretch. App State will host Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 for Luau Night. While supplies last, all App State students will receive an App State Luau themed t-shirt. The Mountaineers will then host Georgia Southern for Black Saturday at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25.
App State will host Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 for Youth Day before capping their homestretch with a 3:30 p.m. Pink Day game against Georgia State on Feb. 1. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the men's program, which is also hosting Georgia State at 1 p.m. for their Coaches vs. Cancer game.
