BOONE, N.C – The App State women's basketball team (5-2) defeated Norfolk State (2-6), 66-38, in front of a record-breaking Education Day crowd of 2,035 fans on Tuesday. The previous program attendance record for the Mountaineers was 1,823, set on April 3, 2019 at the WBI Championship. Tuesday's victory also balances the all-time series between the Mountaineers and Spartans at 2-2.
"What an electric environment," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "That was awesome. We were on the other side of an Education Day game like this last week and it just feels good to have all of those kids screaming for you. I want to give a shout out to Dr. Leslie Alexander, the superintendent of Watauga County, and just helping make this come to a reality and to our marketing team, who worked really hard to get 2,035 screaming kids in here. We told our team before the game that they have such an opportunity to show those kids what grit, resilience, and camaraderie looks like and I thought our team did just that."
Junior
Daisia Mitchell had herself a game, netting a career and team high 21 points. She drained 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, coming within two of matching the program's made 3-point single-game record. Additionally, Mitchell combined with senior
Emily Hege and graduate student
Jada Burton for 15 of App State's 40 rebounds, each contributing five. Sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli registered a career high 17 points of her own on the afternoon while senior
Emma Smith dished out a team high eight assists and made five of App State's 11 steals.
The Mountaineers shot 42.9% from the arc and 44.9% from the field, while holding the Spartans to four treys. App State also held Norfolk State to five offensive rebounds and caused 20 Spartan turnovers.
Norfolk State opened play with a quick jumper before Mitchell, who shot 100% from beyond the arc in the period, put the Mountaineers on the board with her first 3-point bucket of the day. Over the remaining 6:24 of the quarter, Hege drained a trey of her own, Atli knocked down a pair of freebies, and Mitchell contributed two more treys to put App State up, 14-7 at the close of the period.
The Mountaineers' momentum continued to propel them through the second quarter as senior
Elena Pericic and Mitchell pushed App State ahead, 20-12, with a pair of treys. Midway through the period, both teams faced scoring droughts. A jumper from freshman
Riley Stoker broke the Mountaineers' drought and marked the start of an 11-0 run over 2:11 that extended App State's lead to 31-15. Pericic drained 2-of-2 from both the arc and the charity stripe and combined with Mitchell for 11 of App State's 18 points in the period.
Atli went to work in the third quarter, netting eight of her 17 points in the period and making four trips to the hoop over 2:54. Mitchell drained her fifth 3-point bucket and got around the defense for a layup to put App State up, 45-23. With layups from Stoker and Hege, a freebie from Burton, and 3-point bucket from sophomore
Jayden McBride, App State took a 27-point lead (53-26).
Atli netted five points with a layup and jumper in the paint, as well as a freebie early in the fourth period. Building off a jumper from Hege, fastbreak layup from Mitchell, and freebies from Burton and junior
Marta Gutierrez, App State sealed the win, 66-38.
Up Next
App State will gear up for a four-game road-stretch in December. The Mountaineers will head to Boiling Springs, N.C. for a 7 p.m. clash with Gardner-Webb on Dec. 1 before traveling to Clemson, S.C. to challenge Clemson on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. App State will open Sun Belt play against Marshall at 11 a.m. in Huntington, WVa. on Dec. 17 before heading to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern on Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers will return to Boone for a 6:30 p.m. game against Carolina University on Dec. 29.
