BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set for a Sunday matinee against Clemson, in Clemson, S.C. for its second game of its December road-stretch. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be available to stream on ACCNX.
The Mountaineers enter Sunday's game 6-2 on the season, marking their best start through the first eight games since the 2012-13 campaign.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers opened the month of December with a 63-53 road victory over Gardner-Webb on Monday. Senior
Emily Hege led the charge, scoring 16 points on the night. Fellow senior
Elena Pericic and sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli matched with 13 points apiece. Atli knocked back 6-of-8 from the field and was the Mountaineers' top rebounder, grabbing seven boards. Pericic drained 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and combined with sophomore
Jayden McBride for seven of App State's 10 3-point buckets. With six assists, senior
Emma Smith led the team in assists.
App State drained 8-of-12 treys in the first half, shooting 47.7% from the arc over the duration of play. The Mountaineers held the Runnin' Bulldogs to five treys and five second-chance points on the night.
Rankings Report
Junior
Daisia Mitchell remains the Mountaineers' top scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game this season. Following close behind is Smith, who averages 9.5 points per contest, and McBride, who averages 9.3 points per game. App State's top rebounder is Smith, who grabs an average of 5.6 boards per contest. Additionally, Smith leads the Sun Belt in assist/turnover ratio (2.31) and ranks second in the league in assists per game (4.6) as well as third in assists (37). Smith also rounds out the top five in the conference in steals per game, averaging 2.63 per contest.
App State leads the league and ranks 10th nationally in scoring defense (51.9). The Mountaineers also lead the Sun Belt and rank among the NCAA's top 35 in rebound margin (11.5) and field goal percentage (46.7%).
Series History vs. Clemson
Sunday's game will mark the eighth meeting between the Mountaineers and Tigers. The Mountaineers fell short 87-48 in their last encounter with the Tigers on Dec. 21, 2018. Pre Stanley led the Mountaineers with 10 points, while Brooke Bigott grabbed a team high nine rebounds. Nicola Mathews, who drained two of App State's four treys, dished out a team high three assists. Clemson leads the all-time series, 6-1.
Scouting Clemson
Clemson is 5-4 (0-1 ACC) on the season and returns to Littlejohn Coliseum after a 72-48 road loss to Alabama on Thursday. The Tigers split their contests at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship (Nov. 28 and 30), defeating Western Carolina, 77-44, before falling short, 72-64, to No. 20/21 Michigan State. The Tigers are 0-3 against ranked opponents this year, dropping contests to No. 2 South Carolina (Nov. 11) and No. 22/21 Louisville (Nov. 16) in addition to their loss to the Spartans. Clemson opened the season with a pair of victories against USC Upstate and Mercer and went on to post wins over American and Furman.
Senior guard Mia Moore and junior guard/forward Rusne Augustinaite are Clemson's top scorers, averaging 11.7 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Both have recorded field goal percentages of 44.0% through nine games this winter. Additionally, Augustinaite ranks among the ACC's top three and the NCAA's top 45 in 3-point percentage (44.0%) and 3-pointers (44). Moore stands second in the league and 40th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.44). She also ranks fourth in the ACC and 39th in the NCAA in double-doubles with three and rounds out the conference in assists (44) and assists per game (4.9). She also averages a team high 6.8 rebounds per game.
Clemson ranks third in the ACC and 46th nationally in scoring defense (55.9). The Tigers also rank fourth in the league in 3-pointers per game (8.1).
On the Horizon
App State will open Sun Belt action on Dec. 17 with a clash against Marshall in Huntington, WVa. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
