LAFAYETTE, La. – The App State women's basketball team (9-10, 2-7 SBC) wrapped up its four-game road stretch with a 68-48 victory over Louisiana in Lafayette on Friday.
"Great response from our team. I thought we looked like us again," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "The intensity level was high on both ends of the floor. We pushed the pace and moved the ball. We need to keep building from this."
The Mountaineers' top scorer was junior
Daisia Mitchell, who netted 17 points and drained three of App State's eight 3-point buckets. She also accounted for all three of the Black and Gold's steals. Freshman
Addie Biel netted 14 points, draining 7-of-9 from the field, while fellow freshman
Riley Stoker made both of App State's blocks against the Ragin' Cajuns. Senior
Emma Smith was one rebound shy of registering a double-double after netting 11 points and pulling down nine boards. Additionally, Smith dished out a team-high four assists. App State held Louisiana to one second chance point, four offensive rebounds, and six points in the fourth quarter.
Louisiana knocked down the first bucket of the night, but it didn't faze the Mountaineers as Mitchell answered with a 3-pointer of her own and sparked a 10-0 run for the Black and Gold. Mitchell and Biel, who drained 4-of-5 from the field in the period, combined for 15 of App State's 18 points in the first quarter.
The Ragin' Cajuns managed to catch up to the Mountaineers at 22 all in the second quarter before taking a 24-22 edge. With an assist from Stoker, Biel knotted the score at 24-24. Graduate student
Jada Burton drilled her first triple of the season to push the Mountaineers ahead, 27-26, and Mitchell drained a trey of her own to extend App State's lead to 30-26. With 0:47 left in the half, Biel made a trip to the hoop for a layup to put the Mountaineers ahead, 32-29.
The Mountaineers' momentum carried into the second half as Mitchell opened the third period with a layup. With a 12-0 scoring run, App State leapt ahead, 48-33, building off of a set of free throws from senior
Emily Hege, a 3-pointer and jumper from Smith, and back-to-back triples from Mitchell. Sophomore
Jayden McBride drilled a 3-point bucket of her own as the quarter wound down.
App State outscored Louisiana 17-6 in the fourth quarter. Smith and sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli opened the period with free throws and combined for eight points over the last 10 minutes of play. With 3-pointers from Hege and Smith and a pair of freebies from Stoker, App State took a 22-point lead. Free throws from McBride kept the Mountaineers ahead, 66-44. Burton landed a jumper with 0:23 left in play. Louisiana managed a last-second jumper of its own, but App State took the win, 68-48.
Up Next
App State returns to Boone to host South Alabama and ULM next week. The Mountaineers will host the Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 for Luau Night before closing out the month with a 1 p.m. clash with ULM for National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Jan. 31.
Tickets are available and both games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
