CONWAY, S.C. – The App State women's basketball team closed the regular season on Friday after falling short to Coastal Carolina, 88-51, in Conway, S.C.
The Mountaineers were selected as the No. 6 seed for the Sun Belt Tournament and open tournament play in Friday's 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) fourth round game. App State will face off against the winner of Game 6.
Senior
Emily Carver led the Mountaineers with 11 points. She also grabbed four rebounds. Junior
Rylan Moffitt grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and fellow junior
Elena Pericic pulled down six rebounds. Senior
Mara Neira knocked down two of App State's four treys on the night, while senior
Zada Porter dished out a pair of assists.
Coastal Carolina established a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter and managed to maintain the lead for the duration of the game. Pericic put the Mountaineers on the board with a layup, assisted by senior
Eleyana Tafisi. Neira and junior
Emily Hege each drained 3-point buckets, combining for six of App State's nine points in the period.
The Mountaineers opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run, narrowing the deficit to 23-15 as Carver and Tafisi knocked down jumpers and Carver completed a three-point play. A pair of freebies from Pericic sliced the deficit to 25-18. Despite a free throw from Carver, and layup and a jumper from Inniss, CCU took a 40-23 lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Porter drilled a quick 3-point bucket. As the Chanticleers built on their lead, Carver got around the defense for a pair of layups and knocked down a free throw. Inniss and junior
Seneya Martinez got around the defense for layups. Martinez also made a tip-in with 0:36 left in the period. Neira fired off a buzzer-beating 3-point bucket to close the quarter.
Freshman Hekla Nökkvadóttir made a layup to cut into the Chants' lead early in the fourth quarter. Hege netted five points over 1:48, landing a jumper and completing a three-point play. Despite a three-point play from Ingram, CCU sealed the win 88-51.
Up Next
The Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship is slated for March 4-10 in Pensacola, Fla. The tournament bracket will be announced after the conclusion of Friday's final Sun Belt regular season game. The tournament will be available to stream on ESPN+ and the championship game on March 10 will be broadcast on ESPN2.
