BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team (7-5, 0-2 SBC) resumes Sun Belt play on Saturday with a 2 p.m. rematch against Marshall in the Holmes Center.
There will be a Rare Air beanie giveaway for the first 200 fans and following the game there will be an autograph session with the team. Additionally, the game is one of three remaining JMKC Bring A Friend games, where JMKC members are invited to bring one friend, age 12 or under, for free. JMKC members can show their JMKC credential at the Southwest entrance, or email proof of membership to the App State ticket office for free admission. Saturday's contest will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Returning to Boone after a series of road games, the Mountaineers closed out 2025 with a 82-31 win over Carolina University on Monday. App State was six assists shy of matching the single-game program record of 31 assists, which was set during the 1996-97 campaign.
Against the Bruins, four Mountaineers netted double-figures, led by freshman
Addie Biel, who scored 17 points. Senior
Emma Smith pulled down eight rebounds and dished out eight assists. The Mountaineers controlled the lead for the duration of the game after establishing a 9-0 lead in the first minutes of play. Additionally, App State managed to hold the Bruins to single-digits in three of four quarters.
Rankings Report
App State's top scorers entering Saturday's clash are junior
Daisia Mitchell and sophomore
Jayden McBride. The pair average 11.2 and 10.7 points per contest, respectively. Smith is the Black and Gold's top rebounder, grabbing 5.7 boards per contest. In addition to leading the team in rebounds, Smith leads the Mountaineers in assists, dishing out 4.5 per contest. In the rankings, Smith leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.70) and assists per game, ranking among the NCAA's top-75 in both categories.
App State leads the league and rounds out the nation's top-45 in 3-point percentage (36.5%), scoring defense (55.5), and field goal percentage (46%). The Mountaineers stand second in the Sun Belt in rebound margin (8.6) as well as assist/turnover ratio (0.99), and rank third in assists per game (14.6).
Last Time Against Marshall
App State opened conference action against Marshall in Huntington, WVa. on Dec. 17. Despite knotting the score on 12 occasions and swapping the lead nine times, the Mountaineers fell short, 75-62, in their third Education Day clash of the 2025-26 campaign.
Smith, Mitchell, and McBride combined for 42 of App State's 62 points, with Smith contributing a team-high 19 points. The trio also accounted for six of the Black and Gold's seven treys on the day. Smith and Mitchell dished out nine of the Mountaineers' 14 assists. Biel led the Mountaineers in rebounds, grabbing eight boards. App State managed to hold the Herd to five offensive rebounds and shot 81% from the charity stripe as well as 41% from beyond the arc.
Scouting Marshall
Since opening Sun Belt play against the Mountaineers, the Herd came out victorious over James Madison (Dec. 20) and Coastal Carolina (Jan. 1) in a pair of overtime battles. Marshall (12-3, 3-0 SBC) entered the week's competition ranked 20th in the
CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top-25 and is currently tied with Arkansas State for second in the Sun Belt standings.
Senior guard Timaya Lewis-Eutsey and freshman guard Olivia Olson remain Marshall's top scorers, averaging 16.5 and 12.9 points per game, respectively. Lewis-Eutsey ranks 10th nationally in steals (49) and 21st in steals per game (3.27), leading the Sun Belt in both categories. She also leads the Sun Belt in free throws (63) and ranks second in field goal percentage (51.1%), field goals (89), points (248), and points per game. Olson ranks fourth in 3-pointers (40) and 3-pointers per game (2.67). Senior guard Blessing King continues to lead the Herd in rebounds, averages a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game.
The Herd leads the Sun Belt in free throw percentage (75.7%). Marshall also ranks second in the SBC and among the nation's top-25 in steals per game (13.1), turnovers forced per game (22.27), and blocks per game (5.3).
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers remain in Boone for their next two games, hosting Coastal Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 and Southern Miss at 1 p.m. on Jan. 10. JMKC members are invited to bring one friend, age 12 or under, for free to both games. The games will also be available to stream on ESPN+.
