BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team will open play in the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship on Friday against No. 11 seed Marshall in the fourth round. Friday's game is set for 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
App State closed the regular season in Conway, S.C. on Feb. 28, falling short to Coastal Carolina, 88-51. Senior
Emily Carver netted a team-high 11 points, while junior
Rylan Moffitt pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Fellow junior
Elena Pericic grabbed six rebounds. Senior
Mara Neira drained two of App State's four 3-point buckets and fellow senior
Zada Porter dished out a pair of assists.
Last Time at the SBC Tournament
At the 2024 Sun Belt Basketball Championship, App State entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed and knocked off No. 8 seeded Georgia State in the second round (March 6). The Mountaineers defeated the Panthers 73-68.
Faith Alston led the charge, netting a career-high 36 points, which was the most points a Mountaineer had scored in a postseason win in program history. Alston drained four of App State's eight treys, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.
Taylor Lewis and Moffitt pulled down seven rebounds apiece.
App State advanced to the quarterfinal and faced No. 1 seed Marshall on March 8. The Mountaineers fell short to the Thundering Herd, 116-74.
J'Mani Ingram netted a team-high 20 points, coming within three of her career high. Carver scored 10 points, knocking down three of the Black and Gold's five treys. Carver also combined with Alston for eight of App State's 12 assists.
Around the Mountain
Entering the tournament, Porter is the Mountaineers' top scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game. She has shot 48.7% from the field and 76% from the charity stripe this winter. App State's top rebounder is Moffitt, who averages 4.7 rebounds per contest. Following Moffitt is Pericic and Porter, who grab an average of 4.4 and 4.3 rebounds per game, respectively. In the assists category, senior
Eleyana Tafisi leads the Black and Gold, dishing out 4.5 per game. She is followed by Porter, who averages 3.4 assists per contest.
Series History vs. Marshall
App State and Marshall have only met once in the SBC Tournament, on March 8, 2024, since the Herd joined the conference.
The Mountaineers have a 26-25 edge in its series history against the Thundering Herd after splitting this season's contests. The Black and Gold defeated the Herd 68-64 in Huntington, W. Va., on Jan. 18. Porter netted 15 points and dished out five assists. She also drained a perfect 3-of-3 from the arc. Pericic scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. App State and Marshall met again on Feb. 19 in Boone, but the Mountaineers fell short 76-58. Porter once again led the Black and Gold with 15 points, drilling 7-of-8 from the field. Moffitt netted 10 points, while Carver grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Scouting Marshall
No. 11 seed Marshall opened tournament play on March 4 with a 73-59 victory over No. 14 seed South Alabama in the first round. The Thundering Herd edged past No. 10 seed Texas State, 68-62, in the second round (March 5) before meeting No. 7 seed Louisiana in the third round (March 6). After trailing 14-6 in the first quarter, Marshall steadily chipped away at the deficit to clinch a 48-46 win and advance to Friday's fourth-round clash.
The Thundering Herd are 14-19 (6-12 SBC) on the season. Since meeting the Mountaineers on Feb. 19, Marshall notched a 70-59 victory over Georgia State (Feb. 22) and 73-65 win over ULM (Feb. 26). The Herd closed the regular season with a tight 70-68 loss to Georgia State in Huntington, WVa.
Aislynn Hayes is the Herd's top scorer, averaging 17.6 point per game. Hayes is followed by CC Mays, who averages 12.0 points per game and Meredith Maier, who averages 10.4 points per contest. Hayes also leads the team in assists, dishing out 2.8 per contest, while Mays leads the team in the rebounds category, averaging 4.9 per contest. Additionally, Mays leads Marshall in steals, averaging 1.8 per game.
On the Horizon
The winner of Friday's 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) fourth-round game will advance to Saturday's 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) quarterfinal game against No. 3 seed Troy.
The Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship is slated for March 4-10 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2025 Sun Belt Tournament Schedule & Results
Tuesday, March 4 | First Round
Game 1 - (12) Georgia Southern 70, (13) Southern Miss 59
Game 2 - (11) Marshall 73, (14) South Alabama 59
Wednesday, March 5 | Second Round
Game 3 - (12) Georgia Southern 75, (9) ULM 69
Game 4 - (11) Marshall 68, (10) Texas State 62
Thursday, March 6 | Third Round
Game 5 - (8) Georgia State 70, (12) Georgia Southern 64
Game 6 - (11) Marshall 48, (7) Louisiana 46
Friday, March 7 | Fourth Round
Game 7 - (5) Old Dominion vs. (8) Georgia State - 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT)
Game 8 - (6) App State vs. (11) Marshall - 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
Saturday, March 8 | Quarterfinal
Game 9 - (4) Coastal Carolina vs. Winner Game 7 - 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT)
Game 10 - (3) Troy vs. Winner Game 8 - 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT)
Sunday, March 9 | Semifinal
Game 11 - (1) James Madison vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT)
Game 12 - (2) Arkansas State vs. Winner Game 10 - 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
Monday, March 10 | Championship
Game 13 - Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 - 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) - ESPN2
