BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team (3-1) defeated Wofford (1-3), 77-50, to close out the Mountaineers' season-opening homestand on Sunday. The victory was punctuated by a beyond-half court heave from senior
Emma Smith that beat the buzzer at the close of the third quarter.
"I thought we did a really good job of executing our halftime adjustments," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "We talked about slipping. We played very side-to-side and not downhill enough in the first half and the adjustments we didn't make on Wednesday, to all of a sudden today come out of halftime and really execute the things that we asked, I think that's a big growth moment. The two eight-point quarters, obviously I'm really excited about that. I've talked a lot about what this team can be defensively."
Five Mountaineers netted double-figures, led by sophomore
Jayden McBride, who accounted for 15 points. McBride and senior
Emily Hege, who netted 11 points of her own, combined for six of App State's 10 treys on the afternoon. Smith registered the Mountaineers' first double-double of the season with 14 points and a team high 10 rebounds, in addition to dishing out seven assists. Fellow senior
Elena Pericic scored 12 points and sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli netted a career high 10 points and grabbed eight boards.
The Mountaineers outpaced Wofford in rebounds, pulling down 39 to the Terriers' 28. The Terriers had entered Sunday's contest ranked eighth nationally in rebounds per game, defensive rebounds per game, and rebound margin. App State shot 43.5% from the arc as well as 53.4% from the field and held Wofford to four 3-point buckets. App State held Wofford to seven points off turnovers as well as two fast-break points. Additionally, the Mountaineers saw 29 points off the bench compared to Wofford's eight. In both the first and third quarters, App State scored 24 points to Wofford's eight.
Wofford opened the game with a jumper before McBride answered with a 3-point bucket to put App State up, 3-2, within the first 0:30 of play. The Mountaineers maintained the lead for the remainder of the game as a 3-point bucket from Hege and a jumper from junior
Daisia Mitchell reinforced the App State's lead, 8-4. The Terriers managed to match the Mountaineers at 8-8, but a 16-0 scoring run over the remaining 4:42 in the quarter launched the Black and Gold ahead, 24-8. Hege, Atli, and Pericic combined for 15 of App State's 24 points during the quarter.
Pericic opened the second quarter with a tip-in layup, which Hege followed up with a 3-point bucket to extend App State's lead, 29-8. Wofford found momentum in the period, netting a game high 20 points in the period to narrow the deficit to five (33-28). Mitchell fired off a jumper to close the half, 35-28.
App State opened the third period with a 12-0 run over 3:26 that featured a jumper from McBride, a tip-in from Smith, treys from Smith and Hege, and a layup in the paint from Atli. At the close of the quarter, Smith drilled a buzzer-beater from beyond half court to extend App State's lead, 59-36.
McBride netted six points in the fourth quarter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers. The Mountaineers broke 70 points with a layup in the paint from Pericic (70-45).
Isa Roman accounted for the Black and Gold's third trey of the quarter. With layups from freshmen
Addie Biel and
Riley Stoker, App State led by as much as 29 late in the period. Wofford managed to make one last layup, but App State sealed the win, 77-50.
Up Next
App State will take on West Virginia in Morgantown, WVa. for the Black and Gold's first road game of the 2025-26 campaign. Tipoff is set for 10:15 a.m. on Nov. 20. The Mountaineers will remain on the road for a 3:30 p.m. clash against UNC Asheville on Nov. 22. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
