BOONE, N.C. – Despite a strong start, the App State women's basketball team fell short to Marshall in a tight, 53-48, battle in Boone on Saturday.
"I'm obviously disappointed. It's a game that can go either way. I do feel like, as a team, we're closer than we were two weeks ago and that's the goal of a team," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "Obviously winning is the number one goal, but improvement, if you can't get the win, improvement, you'll take it as a coach, being just three games in conference play. Obviously, I'm really disappointed in our defensive rebounding. Offensively, I thought we did a really good job on the glass. Unfortunately, just defensively they had 15 offensive rebounds and several of those in the final five minutes, and that's what it takes to win. We've got to continue to develop our finishing around the rim and finding ways to play in tempo. I thought our on-ball defense was something we put our head and heart into in the last two weeks and it really showed great growth. I'm really proud of that."
Freshman
Addie Biel was the Mountaineers' top scorer, netting 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half of play. For a fourth time in her career, senior
Emma Smith grabbed a career high 11 rebounds. Additionally, Smith accounted for two of App State's six steals and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Fellow senior
Emily Hege dished out a team and season-high six assists. App State netted 15 points off turnovers and 12 second-chance points.
The Mountaineers (7-6, 0-3 SBC) started hot with a 10-0 run over 1:51. Sophomore
Jayden McBride drained back-to-back 3-point buckets, the Mountaineers' sole trey's of the game, to put App State on the board. Shortly after, sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli made a pair of layups in the paint. The Black and Gold held Marshall (13-3, 4-0 SBC) to a mere seven points in the first quarter and closed the period up, 16-7, after layups from senior
Elena Pericic and junior
Daisia Mitchell.
Biel opened the second period with a layup, assisted by Hege. App State's hot shooting fizzled in the quarter, as the Thundering Herd found momentum with a 12-0 run to take a 19-18 edge. At the buzzer, McBride found the hoop, assisted by Smith, and was sent to the line. McBride completed the three-point play, pushing App State ahead, 21-19, at the half.
The Herd's momentum carried to the third quarter as it established a 27-21 lead with an early 8-0 run. Biel netted eight of App State's 10 points in the period, shooting 4-of-6 from the field. Down 38-31 at the start of the fourth quarter, Smith managed to get to the hoop for a layup and Hege landed a jumper. The Mountaineers steadily chipped away at the deficit as Biel, Mitchell, and Atli made trips to the hoop and Smith knocked down a pair of freebies with 2:03 left in regulation. Mitchell completed a three-point play with 0:40 left in play to bring the Mountaineers within three of Marshall's lead. With 0:06 left on the clock, Mitchell made a tipin bucket to keep App State within three points of the Herd's lead, but Marshall sealed the win, 53-48, with a pair of free throws as time ran out. The Mountaineers outscored the Herd, 17-15, in the fourth quarter.
Up Next
App State remains in Boone for a pair of conference clashes next week. The Mountaineers will host Coastal Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 before hosting Southern Miss at 1 p.m. on Jan. 10. Both games, which will be available to stream on ESPN+, are JMKC Bring A Friend games. JMKC members are invited to bring one friend, age 12 or under, for free for Wednesday and Saturday's games. 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.
