BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team (10-10, 3-7 SBC), defended its home court against South Alabama on Thursday, defeating the Jaguars, 60-57. The Mountaineers will immediately set their sights on ULM, as their game against the Warhawks, originally scheduled for Saturday, has shifted to Friday at 4 p.m. in the Holmes Convocation Center.
"What a great win for our team," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "The word that we have used a lot this week is 'adversity.' We've got some kids kind of banged up,
Emma Smith hasn't practiced or done anything since the Louisiana game and for her to come out and to be able to play like that, that shows a lot of grit and toughness. I think we're starting to grow up a little bit. There were a lot of times that I thought we could fold and you could start to see it and then they responded to us talking about the next play mentality. The goal is for them to be able to eventually have those responses for themselves, but just to even respond in those moments."
"We dug a huge hole in the first half. We had eight points in the first quarter and got down 12 and all of a sudden we lit a fire under us and we climbed our way back in, went into halftime with the lead and I thought our defense was really good. To hold their post player, who is very good, to six points, a lot of credit to
Feryal Defne Atli and
Addie Biel, I thought they did a great job in the paint," Sharp said.
Junior
Daisia Mitchell and senior
Emma Smith were the Mountaineers' top scorers, netting 17 points and 15 points, respectively. The pair combined for five of App State's six 3-point buckets, with graduate student
Jada Burton responsible for the sixth. The game marked Smith's sixth consecutive game in double figures as well as Mitchell's 13th this winter. For a fifth game this season, senior
Elena Pericic was App State's top rebounder, grabbing eight boards. Fellow senior
Emily Hege dished out a team-high four assists.
The Mountaineers shot 42.9% from beyond the arc and 42.2% from the field while holding the Jaguars to 20.0% from the arc. App State saw 17 points from the bench compared to South Alabama's six.
Sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli put the Mountaineers on the board with a layup before South Alabama went on a 7-0 run early in the first quarter. A layup from freshman
Riley Stoker brought the Mountaineers within one (7-6), before the Jaguars pulled away to close the quarter, 16-8. South Alabama managed to establish a 12-point lead early in the second quarter before the Mountaineers went to work to erase the deficit. With an 11-0 run that featured triples from Smith and Burton and a pair of Smith free throws, App State tied things up at 25 all. The Jaguars managed to answer by firing off a triple, but Hege pushed the Mountaineers ahead, 29-28, knocking down a pair of freebies and a jumper to close the half. Over the course of the second quarter, Smith scored eight points for the Black and Gold, shooting 100% from the field, arc, and charity stripe.
The Black and Gold opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, fueled by a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from Mitchell and a jumper in the paint from Atli. Mitchell netted eight of App State's 17 points in the period. Freshman
Addie Biel made a trip to the hoop and made a tip in layup to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 40-36. Despite a pair of jumpers from Mitchell and Smith, South Alabama managed to narrow the App State's lead to 46-42 at the end of the period.
App State maintained its lead through the fourth quarter, despite the Jaguars narrowing the deficit to single digits. A layup from Pericic and 3-point bucket from Smith kept the Mountaineers ahead, 51-44. Mitchell went on a mini 4-0 run of her own after completing a three-point play and drilling an additional free throw. With 0:13 left in regulation, South Alabama narrowed the Mountaineers' lead to 59-57, before a free throw from Biel sealed the 60-57 win for the Black and Gold.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will face ULM at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Holmes Center. The game, which was previously scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, was rescheduled due to the weekend's forecasted weather. Admission for Friday's game, as well as parking, will be free.
Series History vs. ULM
Entering its 16th meeting against the Warhawks, App State maintains an unblemished 15-0 record over ULM. The Mountaineers and Warhawks last met on Feb. 5, 2025 in Monroe, La., where a driving, tiebreaking layup from
Zada Porter lifted the Mountaineers to a 73-71 victory.
Elena Pericic was the Mountaineer's top scorer and top rebounder, netting 22 points and grabbing six boards. Pericic and
Emily Carver both drained 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, combining with
Eleyana Tafisi for nine of App State's 14 triples. App State shot 58.3% from beyond the arc and 53.1% from the field.
Scouting ULM
ULM (8-12, 3-8 SBC) looks to snap a three-game drought after dropping contests to James Madison (Jan. 22), Marshall (Jan. 23), and, most recently, Old Dominion (Jan. 28). Early in conference play, the Warhawks defeated South Alabama, 61-44. ULM also completed the season sweep of Louisiana, defeating the Ragin' Cajuns, 61-51, on Jan. 8 and downing the Ragin' Cajuns 102-58 victory on Jan. 17.
Graduate student guard
J'Mani Ingram, who played for the Mountaineers last season, is ULM's top scorer, averaging 11.4 points per game. Senior guard Nakiyah Mays-Prince follows Ingram with an average of 10.2 points per contest. Mays-Prince also leads the team and the Sun Belt in assists per game, dishing out 4.4 per contest. She also matches with another former Mountaineer, graduate student guard
Asjah Inniss, as the Warhawks' leader in the steals category (1.9 stl/g). Averaging 8.9 boards per contest is ULM's top rebounder, graduate student center Marcavia Shavers.
ULM ranks second in the Sun Belt and among the nation's top 20 in offensive rebounds per game (16.1) and bench points per game (27.5). The Warhawks also stand among the nation's top 45 in turnovers forced per game (20.55) and steals per game (10.8). In conference-only action, ULM ranks second in offensive rebounds (17.5) and steals (11.27), third in rebounds (40.8) and rebound margin (3.5), fourth in 3-point percentage (32.8%). Through 11 SBC games, Mays-Price ranks second in assists (5.1) and Shavers ranks third in rebounds (10.5).
On The Horizon
App State is scheduled to take on Troy at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) in Troy, Ala. on Feb. 4 before traveling to Kent, Ohio to face Kent State at 1 p.m. on Feb. 7 for the second installment of this season's MAC-SBC Challenge.
