BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to take on ULM in Monroe, La., on Wednesday. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers (12-9, 8-3 SBC) fell short to Georgia State, 62-55, on Saturday. Senior
Mara Neira led the Black and Gold, netting 15 points to notch her third game as App State's top scorer. Neira also drained five treys for a second game this season. Fellow senior
Zada Porter netted 11 points, tallying her sixth consecutive game and 12th game this season scoring double-figures. Porter also led the team with three steals and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers. Senior
J'Mani Ingram and juniors
Rylan Moffitt and
Elena Pericic combined for 15 of App State's 36 rebounds, while senior
Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high six assists.
Around the Mountain
Porter continues to lead the Mountaineers, averaging 10.8 points per game, followed by fellow senior
Emily Carver, who averages 9.4 points per game. Pericic averages a team-high 4.6 rebounds per contest, closely followed by Moffitt and Porter, who average 4.5 and 4.3 rebounds per game, respectively. Tafisi averages a team-high 4.9 assists per contest for the Mountaineers, while Neira leads the team in steals, averaging 1.7 per game.
App State leads the Sun Belt in 3-point percentage (35.6%) and assists (17.09) in league-only action. The Mountaineers also stand second in field goal percentage (43.5%) and fourth in defensive rebounds (27.5). Tafisi ranks second in the league in assists, averaging 5.8 per conference contest. Moffitt rounds out the Sun Belt's top-five in blocked shots, averaging 1.4 per league game.
App State leads the Sun Belt and ranks 45th in the NCAA in assists per game, averaging 16.2. The Mountaineers also lead the league in field goal percentage (43.2%) and 3-point percentage (34.2%). The Black and Gold stands second in the SBC and 20th nationally in bench points per game (27.0). Additionally, App State stands third in the conference in defensive rebounds (27.0) and fourth in 3-pointers per game (7.6). Individually, Tafisi remains second in the league and rounds out the NCAA's top-55 in assists per game. Additionally, Porter stands sixth in the league in assists per game (3.4). Neira rounds out the Sun Belt's top-five in 3-pointers per game (1.95), and Moffitt checks in at eighth in blocks per game (0.95).
Series History vs. ULM
App State has won all 14 of its games against ULM, spanning back to 1997. The Mountaineers and Warhawks last met on Feb. 7, 2024, in Boone, where the Black and Gold outlasted ULM in a 78-71 midweek thriller. A trio of Mountaineers netted double figures, led by
Faith Alston, who scored 24 points. Alston combined with Carver for six of App State's seven treys. Carver, who netted 15 points, dished out a team-high six assists. App State shot 76% from the line, which included a key 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the last 30 seconds of play. The Mountaineers also held the Warhawks to eight offensive rebounds, eight second chance points, and forced 17 ULM turnovers.
Scouting ULM
ULM is 9-12 on the season and 5-5 in conference play. The Warhawks enter Wednesday's contest off a tight 67-64 loss against Texas State (Feb.1). Around the conference, the Warhawks notched wins over Georgia Southern (Jan. 2), Texas State (Jan. 25), and South Alabama (Jan. 30). ULM also completed a season sweep of Southern Miss (Jan. 9 and Jan. 16). In non-conference action, the Warhawks opened the season with a 117-60 victory over Central Baptist and three consecutive wins, before suffering a six-loss stretch that spanned from Nov. 17 to Dec. 17.
Jakayla Johnson and Meloney Thames are the Warhawks' top scorers, averaging 14.9 and 12.9 points per game, respectively. Johnson also leads the team in assists, dishing out an average of 3.1 per game, as well as steals, making 1.7 per game. In the rebounds category, Sakyia White leads the team, averaging 7.7 rebounds per contest.
In conference action, ULM ranks second in the SBC in 3-point percentage (34.9%) and third in defensive rebounds (27.5). The Warhawks also rank fourth in free throw percentage (73.7%), rebounds (41.7) and offensive rebounds (14.2), and round out the league's top-five in blocked shots (3.7). Johnson stands second in the SBC in free throw percentage (91.3%) and ranks fourth in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per conference contest. Brikayla Gray rounds out the Sun Belt's top-five in steals, averaging 2.3 steals per conference game.
For the season ULM leads the league and ranks 32nd in the NCAA in made free throws per game (14.57). The Warhawks stand second in the SBC in free-throw percentage (73.6%) and third in blocks per game (3.8). ULM also stands fourth in the league in defensive rebounds per game (26.6) and rebounds per game (40.24). Individually, Johnson ranks second in the league and rounds out the NCAA's top-70 in free throw percentage (84.8%). Additionally, Johnson stands third in the SBC in points per game (14.9) and fourth in free throws (67) as well as points (313).
On the Horizon
App State will host Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the second installment of the 2024-25 MAC-SBC Challenge. At the game, the Mountaineers will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. On the concourse of the Holmes Convocation Center there will be a pregame youth clinic at 1:15 p.m. with App State's women's sports teams for the first 50 kids ages pre-K to eighth grade who
sign up.
