BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team heads to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan on Monday in the first leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.
2025-26 Season in Review
The Mountaineers are looking to build off an 11-19 (4-14 SBC) record from the 2025-26 season, in which they finished 14th in the conference. App State finished second in scoring defense by allowing just 61.5 points per game and second in 3-point percentage defense (28.1%), while ranking fourth in field goal percentage by shooting 42.4% from the field. The Mountaineers' highest-scoring game came against Bob Jones on Nov. 7, scoring 110 points in their second consecutive win of the season.
Returning Mountaineers
Highlighting the six returners for App State is senior Daisia Mitchell, who earned Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team honors on Oct. 19. Mitchell played in all 30 games for the Mountaineers last season, starting 29. She finished second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Also starting 29 of 30 games was Feryal Defne Atli, who returns to the Mountaineers after a successful sophomore season averaging six points and 3.6 rebounds a game. Jayden McBride remains in the High Country after seeing action in 23 games; despite suffering injuries, she ranked third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.9 points per game. Her best performance came against Southern Miss on Jan. 10, when she scored 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field while connecting on 6 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc. Addie Biel played a pivotal role off the bench, seeing action in 28 games. One of her best games in conference play came against Georgia State on Feb. 14, when she scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting while pulling down 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. Riley Stoker and Isa Roman also played key roles as freshmen, seeing action in 27 and 23 games, respectively. Stoker's best game came in a close loss against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 18, when she posted a near double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Newcomers in the High Country
Seven newcomers join the Mountaineers for the 2026-27 season, led by Radford transfer and Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree Joi Williams, who scored over 1,000 points in her three years with the Highlanders. Torin Rogers joins the Mountaineers after spending time at Richmond and UNC Wilmington; while with the Spiders, she reached the NCAA Tournament after winning the A10 regular-season and tournament championships in 2023-24. The Mountaineers also added a Power 4 transfer in Raven Preston, who arrives from Wake Forest, where she helped lead the Demon Deacons to an 9-0 start, their best since the 2008-09 season, while averaging 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds before her season was cut short by injury. App State also welcomes transfers Camiah Muldrow from Cloud County Community College and Jadyn Atchison from UT Arlington, where Atchison averaged 8.2 points and three rebounds a game while scoring in double digits 14 times last season. Two standout freshmen join the Mountaineers this season: Zoe Smith from Chapel Hill High School and Jaida McClure from Providence Day.
MAC-SBC Challenge
The Mountaineers are 3-3 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, which began in the 2023-24 season. App State split its matchups in 2025-26, defeating Western Michigan at home in the season opener on Nov. 3 before falling in a tight matchup at Kent State on Feb. 7, 68-63.
Series History vs. Eastern Michigan
This is the first meeting between the Mountaineers and the Eagles. They are facing each other as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge, in which App State has played a MAC school in each of the past three seasons.
Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Michigan enters the matchup following a 13-16 (6-12 MAC) campaign in 2025-26. The Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the 2026-27 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, earning 61 points. This is double their predicted finish from the 2025-26 season, when they were projected 12th in the poll out of 13 teams.
Returners for the Eagles are highlighted by sophomore Peyton Hill, who was selected to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team. Hill was named the 2026 MAC Freshman of the Year and led all MAC rookies in scoring with 14.6 points per game.
EMU finished last season ranked in the top 10 in the MAC in field goal percentage (42.1%) and field goal percentage defense (41.6%), while landing in the top five in 3-point percentage defense (29.9%) and free throw percentage (74.9%).
On the Horizon
App State will face Montreat College to open its home slate, playing the first leg of a doubleheader at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Mountaineers will then hit the road for four straight games, facing in-state foe Davidson on Nov. 11 before taking on Northwestern in the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
