BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to host Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday for the second half of its four-game homestand. The Mountaineers have won three consecutive conference clashes and are tied for third with Troy in the Sun Belt standings with a 7-2 SBC record and 11-8 season record. It is the first time App State has started 7-2 or better in conference play since the 2011-12 campaign and the first time ever in Sun Belt action. The Black and Gold is also 7-2 at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Thursday's game is Youth Day, where all fans eighth grade and younger will receive free admission. There will also be an autograph session with the team following the game.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers opened their four-game homestand with a pair of wins against Old Dominion (Jan. 23) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 25). Against Georgia Southern on Saturday, four Mountaineers scored double-figures, led by junior
Emily Hege. Hege netted a season-high 14 points. Senior
Zada Porter grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, recording her sixth game as App State's top rebounder this season. She also netted 12 points. Junior Elena Percic scored 11 points and combined with Hege for six of the Black and Gold's nine treys as each drained 3-of-4 from the arc. Junior
Rylan Moffitt made two of App State's three blocks in addition to 10 points and four rebounds. Senior
Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high six assists.
Around the Mountain
App State's top scorer is Porter, who averages 10.7 points per game. Porter has been the Mountaineers' top scorer in six games and has netted double-figures in 10 of 19 games this season, including four consecutive games from Jan. 15 to Jan. 25. Fellow senior
Emily Carver follows Porter, averaging 9.7 points per game. In the rebounds category, Pericic leads the team, grabbing an average of 4.7 per contest. Porter and Moffitt follow, averaging 4.5 and 4.4 rebounds per game. Tafisi leads the team in assists, dishing out an average of 4.9 per game. Porter follows, dishing out 3.5 assists per contest.
In conference-only play, App State leads the league in field goal percentage (44.2%), 3-point percentage (36.5%), and assists (18.44). The Mountaineers also rank fourth in scoring offense (71.0), made 3-pointers (8.1), defensive rebounds (27.8). Individually, Tafisi remains the league's leader in the assists category, averaging 6.0 per conference contest. Moffitt rises to fourth in the league in blocked shots, averaging 1.4 per SBC game.
App State also leads the league in field goal percentage (43.5%), 3-point percentage (34.5%), and assists per game (16.8) for the season. The Mountaineers also stand second in the Sun Belt and 17th in the NCAA in bench points per game (27.8). The Black and Gold also stand third in the league in defensive rebounds per game (27.2) as well as fourth in 3-pointers per game (7.5). Porter rounds out the Sun Belt's top-five in assists per game and rounds out the top-10 in free throw percentage (73.8%). Moffitt ranks eighth in blocks per game (0.95) and senior
Mara Neira stands eighth in 3-pointers per game (1.89).
Series History vs. Louisiana
App State has an opportunity to even its series record with Louisiana on Thursday, as the Mountaineers trail the Ragin' Cajuns, 7-6. The Mountaineers have won their last two clashes with the Ragin' Cajuns. In their last meeting, the Mountaineers opened their 2023-24 Sun Belt slate with a 69-56 victory against Louisiana in Lafayette on Dec. 30, 2023. A trio of Mountaineers scored double-figures, led by Chaé Harris, who netted 22 points. Moffitt grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in addition to her eight points. Porter and
Faith Alston combined for eight of App State's assists.
Scouting Louisiana
Louisiana is 9-9 on the season and 5-4 in conference play. The Ragin' Cajuns enter Thursday's conference clash fresh off a 70-53 victory over Troy. The Ragin' Cajuns had dropped a pair of games to Arkansas State (Jan. 15 and Jan. 23) as well as a contest to Troy on Jan. 18. Louisiana won three consecutive games from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11, picking up wins over Georgia State, South Alabama, and Southern Miss. In non-conference play, Louisiana picked up a 64-54 victory over Rice. The Ragin' Cajuns also faced off against Minnesota (Nov. 30), #4 LSU (Dec. 15), and Auburn (Dec. 18), falling short to all three.
Erica Lafayette is the Ragin' Cajuns' top scorer, averaging 14.4 points per contest. She is followed by Tamiah Robinson, who averages 9.9 points per game. Robinson leads the team in rebounds (4.9) and assists (1.9).
In conference play, Lafayette ranks second in the league in scoring (17.9) and rounds out the top-five in field goal percentage (45.5%). Nubia Benedith ranks second in free throw percentage (92.6%). Louisiana ranks third in scoring defense (61.8), fourth in free throw percentage (75.3%), and rounds out the top-five in field goal percentage (42.0%).
Louisiana leads the league and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (21.94). The Ragin' Cajuns also stand second in the conference in 3-point percentage (34.4%) and round out the league's top-five in made free throws per game (13.22). Individually, Lafayette rounds out the SBC's top-five in points per game and ranks sixth in field goal percentage (42.2%) as well as seventh in 3-pointers per game (1.94). Kamryn Jones ranks seventh in steals per game (1.93).
On the Horizon
On Feb. 1, App State will host Georgia State for both the men's 1 p.m. Coaches vs. Cancer game and women's 3:30 p.m. Pink Day game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, show up early for the men's game and stay late for the women's game. One ticket will get fans into both games. The Chuck-A-Duck contest will return at halftime of the women's game.
Saturday's game will wrap App State's four-game homestand before the Black and Gold heads to Monroe, La. to clash with ULM on Feb. 5. The Mountaineers will then return to Boone to host Northern Illinois in this season's second installment of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Feb. 8. The Mountaineers will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day at the game and there will be a pregame youth clinic with App State's women's sports teams for the first 50 kids who sign up.
