BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team (3-1) is set to head to Morgantown, W. Va., for its first road trip of the 2025-26 campaign on Thursday. For only the third time in program history, the App State Mountaineers will clash with the No. 22/23 West Virginia Mountaineers. Tipoff for Thursday's Education Day game is set for 10:15 a.m. and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
App State defeated Wofford, 77-50, to round out its season-opening four-game homestand on Nov. 16. Sunday's win was highlighted by a third-quarter beyond-half-court buzzer beater from senior
Emma Smith that was featured at No. 8 on Monday morning's SportsCenter Top 10 plays. Smith also registered the Mountaineers' first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore
Jayden McBride netted a team-high 15 points, combining with senior
Emily Hege for six of App State's 10 treys. Sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli had a career performance, netting 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
With 39 rebounds to Wofford's 28, the Mountaineers outpaced the Terriers, who had entered Sunday's contest ranked eighth nationally in rebounds per game, defensive rebounds per game and rebound margin. Additionally, the Mountaineers held Wofford to four treys, while shooting 43.5% from the arc and 53.4% from the field.
Rankings Report
Hege leads the nation as well as the Sun Belt in 3-point percentage, with a mark of 80%. Senior
Daisia Mitchell leads the league and rounds out the NCAA's top 50 in field goal percentage (61.1%) and averages a team-best 11.5 points per game. She is followed by McBride and Smith, who average 11.3 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Smith, who is the Mountaineers' leader in the assists category, ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game (4.3) and sixth in assists (17). Additionally, Smith leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 6.3 rebounds per contest.
App State leads the Sun Belt and ranks among the nation's top 35 in field goal percentage (48.7%), scoring defense (51.0) and rebound margin (14.5). The Mountaineers also stand second in the SBC in bench points per game (32.0) and defensive rebounds per game (29.3).
Series History vs. West Virginia
The Mountaineers of App State and West Virginia have only met on two occasions prior to Thursday's contest, and last met three years ago to the day on Nov. 20, 2022, in Morgantown. The Black and Gold fell short to West Virginia, 72-51, in that game. Faith Alston led App State with 10 points and drained all four of her shots from the charity stripe. She also combined with
Zada Porter for four of App State's five assists. A'Lea Gilbert and Lauren Carter combined for 14 boards, each contributing seven.
App State and West Virginia first met on Dec. 28, 2012.
Scouting West Virginia
West Virginia enters Thursday's contest with an unblemished 4-0 record, returning to the Hope Coliseum after a gritty 57-49 victory over No. 15 Duke at the Greenbrier Tipoff on Nov. 14. WVU overcame a three-point deficit with just five players in the second half of Friday's contest. West Virginia opened the season with a three-game homestand, defeating Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 3), Kent State (Nov. 7) and Temple (Nov. 11). The Mountaineers held both Purdue Fort Wayne and Kent State to 47 points, and have scored 80+ points in all three home games. West Virginia earned a No. 22 ranking in this week's WBCA Coaches' Poll as well as a No. 23 ranking in this week's AP Top 25.
A trio of senior guards lead the Mountaineers, with Sydney Shaw pacing them, averaging 16.5 points per contest. She is also the team's top rebounder, averaging 7.5 boards per game. Shaw ranks third in the Big 12 in free-throw percentage (86.7%), and stands among the Big 12's top 10 in 3-pointers per game (2.75), treys (11), 3-point percentage (45.8%) and rebounds per game (7.5). Jordan Harrison leads the team in the assists category, averaging 3.8 per contest. Sydney Woodley is WVU's leader in the steals category with nine this season and ranks 12th in the Big 12 in steals per game (2.25).
WVU leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th in the nation in free throws made per game (19.25). West Virginia also ranks second in the league and 23rd in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (25.25). Additionally, WVU ranks among the conference's top five in scoring defense (51.0) and steals per game (12.3).
On the Horizon
App State will clash with UNC Asheville at 3:30 p.m. in Asheville, N.C., on Nov. 22 before returning to Boone for a noon Education Day game against Norfolk State on Nov. 25.
