BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team fell short to James Madison, 83-57, in Saturday's home closer at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Senior
Zada Porter and junior
Emily Hege led the Mountaineers, netting 14 and 13 points, respectively. Saturday's game was Porter's ninth game as App State's top scorer and 16th scoring double-figures this season. Additionally, Porter dished out a team-high six assists. Hege knocked down three of App State's six treys and grabbed three rebounds. Junior
Rylan Moffitt grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman Hekla Nökkvadóttir made the Mountaineers' sole block of the game. The Black and Gold netted 20 points off the bench. The Mountaineers (13-14, 9-7 SBC) and Dukes (25-4, 16-0 SBC) knotted the score twice.
James Madison took a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. Senior
Emily Carver drained a 3-point bucket to put the Mountaineers on the board. With a trey from Hege, App State edged ahead, 6-5. JMU regained the lead with a pair of 3-pointers of their own. Hege's second trey of the game brought the Mountaineers within two of the Dukes' lead (11-9). Senior
Samantha LaFon completed a three-point play, but JMU closed the quarter ahead, 18-12.
Hege drilled her third 3-point bucket early in the second quarter. Despite a pair of freebies from junior
Elena Pericic and a layup from Moffitt, JMU steadily extended the deficit. Porter netted seven in the second quarter and drained 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Down 48-28 at the half, App State chipped away at the deficit with a layup from Porter, jumper from Moffitt, and a trey from junior
Elena Pericic early in the third quarter. With an assist from Porter, Moffitt landed another jumper. Despite a 3-point bucket from senior
Mara Neira, JMU closed the third quarter with a 64-41 lead.
Neira opened the fourth quarter with a layup in the paint. Porter and Hege combined for eight points during the quarter. Porter drained a pair of free throws before making a layup in the paint. Hege knocked down back-to-back jumpers to cut into JMU's lead. Junior
Seneya Martinez made a good tip-in and Pericic a pair of freebies, but James Madison sealed the game, 83-57.
Up Next
App State will cap the 2024-25 regular season with a pair of road games on Feb. 26 and Feb. 28. The Mountaineers will head to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern at 6 p.m. on Wednesday before capping the regular season with a 5 p.m. clash against Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. on Friday.
