BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to tip off its final homestand of the 2024-25 campaign with a 6:30 p.m. game against Marshall on Wednesday.
Wednesday's game is App State Club Day and free pizza will be available for students. Fans are encouraged to bring canned and non-perishable food items for the Sun Belt Food Fight canned food drive. For the remaining women's and men's basketball games, fans can
claim BOGO tickets when they use the promo code
MOUNTAINSTRONG. App State faculty and staff will receive free admission when they show their App Cards at the southwest entrance.
Last Time Out
App State fell short to Georgia State, 53-50, in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 15. Senior
Mara Neira was the Mountaineers' top scorer for a second consecutive game and fifth game this season. Neira netted 16 points, drained four of App State's seven 3-pointers and tallied a career-high five steals for a third time this season. Senior
Zada Porter netted 12 points, marking her 14th game scoring in double-figures. Porter and fellow senior
Eleyana Tafisi matched in the assists category, dishing out four apiece. She also drained a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. For a 13th game, junior
Elena Pericic netted double-figures, scoring 10 for the Mountaineers, and also drained a trio of treys for App State. Fellow junior
Rylan Moffitt grabbed a team and season-high 11 rebounds for the Black and Gold. It marked her eighth game as App State's top rebounder.
Around the Mountain
Porter averages 10.4 points per contest and senior
Emily Carver averages 9.1 points per contest. Moffitt pulls down an average of 4.8 rebounds per game, followed by Pericic, who averages 4.6 rebounds per contest. Tafisi continues to lead the Mountaineers in the assists category, averaging 5.1 per game.
Averaging 5.9 assists per conference contest, Tafisi continues to lead the league in the assists category. App State remains the league's leader in assists, averaging 17.0 per Sun Belt clash. Additionally, the Mountaineers stand second in 3-point percentage (36.1%), third in made 3-pointers (8.4), and fourth in field goal percentage (43.0%) as well as defensive rebounds (26.8).
App State leads the Sun Belt and rounds out the NCAA's top-50 in assists per game (16.2) for the season. The Mountaineers also rank second in the league in field-goal percentage (42.7%) and 3-point percentage (34.6%). Additionally, the Black and Gold rank third in the SBC and 24th in the NCAA in bench points per game (25.9). Tafisi remains the Sun Belt's leader in assists per game and stands 39th in the NCAA. She also rounds out the league's top-five in total assists with 102 on the year. Porter remains sixth in the league in assists per game (3.4). Neira ranks fourth in the SBC in 3-point percentage (34.9%), rounds out the league's top-five in 3-pointers per game (2.04) and stands sixth in total 3-pointers (51).
Series History vs. Marshall
App State defeated Marshall, 68-64, in Huntington, WVa. on Jan. 18. Porter led the Mountaineers with 15 points and five assists. She also drained a perfect 3-of-3 from the arc and made a team-high four steals. Pericic pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in addition to scoring 14 points. The Mountaineers drained 11 treys and shot 42.3% from the arc and 81.3% from the line. App State leads Marshall, 26-24, in its series with the Thundering Herd.
Scouting Marshall
Marshall is 8-18 (3-11 SBC) on the season. After falling short to App State on Jan. 18, the Thundering Herd picked up a pair of wins over Georgia Southern on Jan. 22 and Feb. 1. Marshall dropped contests to Southern Miss (Jan. 26), Coastal Carolina (Jan. 29), Louisiana (Feb. 5) and Central Michigan (Feb. 8). The Thundering Herd clinched a 73-70 overtime victory over Old Dominion on Feb. 13 before falling short to Coastal Carolina on Feb. 15.
Aislynn Hayes and CC Mays are the Herd's top scorers, averaging 17.2 and 12.2 points per contest, respectively. Hayes also leads the team in assists, averaging 2.8 per game. Blessing King averages a team-high 5.2 rebounds per contest, followed by Mays, who grabs an average of 4.8 rebounds per game.
In conference-only play, Marshall stands second in the league in made 3-pointers, averaging 8.5 per SBC game. Marshall ranks third in the steals category, averaging 10.36 per game. The Thundering Herd rounds out the SBC's top-five in free throw percentage (72.7%) and offensive rebounds (13.1). Hayes stands third in the league in scoring (16.9), while Mays rounds out the top-five in steals (2.4).
For the season, Hayes leads the league and ranks 27th nationally in free throws (116). She also leads the Sun Belt in points per game (17.2) and stands second in total points (430). Hayes ranks 76th in both categories. Meredith Maier stands second in the league and 56th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (2.39). Marshall ranks second in the Sun Belt and 13th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (9.3). The Thundering Herd also ranks fourth in the conference in steals per game (9.8).
On the Horizon
App State will close out its 2024-25 home slate with a 3:30 p.m. clash with SBC leader James Madison on Saturday. Saturday's game is Alumni Day and is part of a doubleheader with the men's program, which will host Marshall at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come early for the men's game and stay late for the women's game. One ticket will get fans into both games and fans can
claim BOGO tickets when they use the promo code
MOUNTAINSTRONG. App State faculty and staff can also receive free admission when they show their App Cards at the southwest entrance.
The Mountaineers will round out the regular season with a Wednesday clash against Georgia Southern at 6 p.m. in Statesboro, Ga. on Feb. 26 and a Friday game against Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. in Conway, S.C. on Feb. 28.
