BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is headed to Atlanta, Ga. to challenge Georgia State this weekend. Saturday's game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers (8-8, 1-5 SBC) opened their four-game conference road-stretch on Wednesday in Norfolk, Va., where they fell short, 65-54, to Old Dominion. Sophomore
Jayden McBride led the Black and Gold in scoring for the seventh time this winter with 15 points, marking her 10th game in double figures. Senior
Emma Smith and junior
Daisia Mitchell each contributed 11 points. McBride, Smith, and senior
Elena Pericic each pulled down seven rebounds, helping the Mountaineers outpace the Monarchs with 46 boards to ODU's 35. Smith also led the Mountaineers in assists, dishing out four.
Rankings Report
McBride and Mitchell hold steady as App State's top scorers. McBride leads the team with 11.6 points per contest, shooting 37.6% from beyond the arc and 41.0% overall. Mitchell follows closely, averaging 10.8 points per contest on 48.3% shooting from the field. Smith leads the Sun Belt and ranks 64th in assist to turnover ratio (1.97) and rounds out the SBC's top-five in assists per game (4.2) and total assists (67). She also averages a team-high 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per contest. The Mountaineers continue to lead the league and rank 34th nationally in scoring defense (57.0) and round out the nation's top-40 in rebound margin (7.6). App State also stands second in the league in field goal percentage (43.8%) and assists per game (14.7).
Through six conference clashes, App State ranks second in scoring defense (64.7) and free throw percentage (76.6%) as well as third in 3-point percentage (33.6%). Smith ranks third in free throw percentage (84.2%) in conference-play, while McBride rose to third in 3-point percentage (45.7%). McBride also rose to fourth in the SBC in 3-pointers per game, averaging 2.7 per conference clash.
Series History vs. Georgia State
App State leads its all-time series with Georgia State, 14-12, despite dropping both contests to the Panthers last season. The Mountaineers fell short, 62-55, on Feb. 1, 2025.
Mara Neira led the Black and Gold with 15 points, draining five of App State's 10 triples and helping the team to a 3-point percentage of 34.5%. App State also held the Panthers to five offensive rebounds and fought through nine lead changes. Neira led the Mountaineers once again in their rematch against the Panthers on Feb. 15, 2025, netting a team-high 16 points. She knocked down four of App State's seven 3-point buckets and accounted for five of App State's eight steals. Combined,
Eleyana Tafisi and
Zada Porter dished out eight of the Black and Gold's 10 assists. Despite knotting the score thrice and swapping the lead twice, the Mountaineers fell short, 53-50.
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State (7-11, 2-4 SBC) enters Saturday's contest off a 66-55 loss against Georgia Southern. The Panthers opened conference play with a loss against the Eagles on Dec. 18 before defeating Coastal Carolina, 68-63, on Dec. 20. In the new year, the Panthers dropped contests to James Madison (Jan. 1) and Old Dominion (Jan. 3). Georgia State bounced back to defeat JMU, 72-70, in Atlanta.
Junior guard Crystal Henderson and senior guard Kaleigh Addie are Georgia State's top scorers, averaging 15.3 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Henderson ranks third in the league in points per game, points (276), assists (75), and steals (44). Averaging 5.9 boards per contest, graduate student guard Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu leads the team in rebounds. Robinson-Nwagwu also ranks third in the Sun Belt in free throws (58) and free throw percentage (79.5%). Georgia State ranks among the NCAA's top-75 in steals per game (23.3), turnover margin (6.0), turnovers forced per game (20.94), and made free throws per game (14.61). In conference-only play, Georgia State ranks third in the Sun Belt in steals, averaging 10.0 per game.
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will remain on the road next week as they take on Texas State and Louisiana. App State will challenge outgoing Sun Belt member Texas State in San Marcos, Texas on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). The Mountaineers will then head to Lafayette, La. to take on Louisiana at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) on Jan. 24.
