BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team will close out its four-game homestand with a 3:30 p.m. clash against Georgia State on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the men's program, who will also be hosting Georgia State at 1 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink, show up early for the men's 1 p.m. Coaches vs. Cancer game, and stay late for the women's Pink Day game. One ticket will get fans into both games. Back by popular demand, the Chuck-A-Duck contest will be held at halftime of the women's game.
Last Time Out
App State (12-8, 8-2 SBC) defeated Louisiana, 61-52, on Thursday, marking its fourth consecutive since Jan. 18. Senior
Eleyana Tafisi and junior
Elena Pericic led the Mountaineers, each netting 13 points. In addition to her season-high score, Tafisi made a season-high five steals and combined with fellow senior
Zada Porter for eight of App State's nine assists. Pericic knocked down three of App State's six treys. Junior
Rylan Moffitt led the team in the rebounds category, grabbing seven. The Mountaineers shot 90% from the charity stripe and 46.9% from the field. The Black and Gold held the Ragin' Cajuns to four fast break points and five assists. The Mountaineers' victory evened out the series record with Louisiana at 7-7.
Around the Mountain
Porter averages a team-high 10.8 points per game, followed by fellow senior
Emily Carver, who averages 9.8 points per game. Pericic, Moffitt, and Porter are the Mountaineers' top rebounders, averaging 4.6, 4.5, and 4.4 rebounds per game, respectively. In the assists category, Tafisi continues to lead the team, dishing out an average of 4.8 per game.
In league-only action, App State continues to lead the Sun Belt in field goal percentage (44.5%), 3-point percentage (35.7%), and assists (17.5). The Mountaineers remain fourth in the conference in made 3-pointers (7.9) and defensive rebounds (27.7). Tafisi ranks second in the Sun Belt in assists, averaging 5.8 assists per conference contest. Pericic and Moffitt round out the league's top-five in 3-pointers per game (2.2) and blocked shots (1.4), respectively.
App State continues to lead the league in field goal percentage (43.7%), 3-point percentage (34.2%), and assists per game (16.4) for the season. The Mountaineers rank third in the league and 22nd in the NCAA in bench points per game (27.0). Additionally, the Black and Gold ranks third in the Sun Belt in defensive rebounds per game (27.2). Individually, Tafisi ranks second in the league and rounds out the NCAA's top-60 in assists per game (4.8). Following her is Porter, who ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in assists per contest. Porter also ranks eighth in the league in free throw percentage (75%). Moffitt remains eighth in the SBC in blocks per game (0.95) and senior
Mara Neira rounds out the top-10 in 3-pointers per game (1.8).
Series History vs. Georgia State
App State leads the series against Georgia State, 14-10, and have won the last two games against the Panthers. The Mountaineers and Panthers last met on March 6, 2024 in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament. The No. seeded 9 Mountaineers defeated the No. 8 seeded Panthers, 73-68.
Faith Alston led the charge, netting 36 points.
Taylor Lewis and Moffitt led the team in the rebounds category with seven apiece. App State netted 18 second-chance points to Georgia State's nine as well as 12 fast break points to Georgia State's six.
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State is 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in conference play. The Panthers enter Saturday's contest fresh off a 66-62 victory over Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. on Jan. 29. GSU had fallen short to the Monarchs on Jan. 25 in Atlanta. In conference play, the Panthers have also split contests with Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern. In non-conference action, the Panthers won four consecutive games from Nov. 10 to Nov 26, which included a 66-60 victory over Georgia on Nov. 14.
Mikyla Tolivert and Kaleigh Addie are Georgia State's top scorers, averaging 13.2 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. In the rebounds category, Patience Williams leads the team, averaging 5.2 per contest. Crystal Henderson leads the team in assists, dishing out an average of 4.6 per game.
In conference-only play, Georgia State leads the league in blocked shots (4.5) and steals (12.3). Mahogany Matthews leads the league in blocked shots, averaging 3.0 per conference game, and stands second in steals, averaging 2.8 per conference game. Henderson stands third in assists, averaging 4.9 per conference contest.
Matthews leads the league in blocks (57) and blocks per game (2.71) for the season. Nationally, Matthews ranks fourth in blocks and seventh in blocks per game. Henderson leads the league in assists (96) and stands second in both steals (53) and steals per game (2.52) as well as third in assists per game (4.6). Henderson rounds out the NCAA's top-35 in steals. Georgia State leads the Sun Belt and ranks 38th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.3). The Panthers also rank second in the conference and 33rd in the NCAA in steals per game (11.0).
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will split their games next week with a road clash against ULM on Feb. 5 and a home matchup with Northern Illinois for this season's second installment of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Feb. 8. App State will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Saturday's game, which will feature a pregame youth clinic with App State's women's sports teams for the first 50 kids who sign up.
