BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team will begin a four-game road trip traveling to in-state foe Davidson on Wednesday at 7 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers (2-0) are coming off back-to-back wins to start the season, most recently defeating Montreat in historic fashion, 107-43, tying the program record for the sixth-most points scored in a game.
Jadyn Atchison led App State in scoring with 16 points off the bench, dishing out four assists and tallying six steals. Four other Mountaineers scored in double figures, with Jayden McBride scoring 15 off the bench, Daisia Mitchell adding 14, Feryal Defne Atli scoring 12 and Torin Rogers finishing with 10.
The Mountaineers held the Cavaliers to just 20% shooting from the field for the duration of the game and 21% from beyond the arc. Forcing 17 steals in the contest, App State took advantage by scoring 39 points off turnovers.
App State freshmen Jaida McClure and Zoe Smith made their collegiate debuts on Wednesday. McClure scored two points while adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes of action. Smith also scored her first collegiate points, recording five points and two rebounds in eight minutes.
Early Season Leaders
Two games into the 2026-27 campaign, Atchison leads the Mountaineers in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game on a team-high 73.3% shooting from the field, while tying Joi Williams for the team lead in assists at 4.0 per game. Raven Preston leads App State in rebounding, averaging 4.5 per contest, highlighted by a season-high eight rebounds against Eastern Michigan in the season opener.
Returning Mountaineers
Highlighting the six returners for App State is senior 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 Atli, who returns to the Mountaineers after a successful sophomore season averaging six points and 3.6 rebounds a game. 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 Williams, who scored over 1,000 points in her three years with the Highlanders. 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 Preston, who arrives from Wake Forest, where she helped lead the Demon Deacons to a 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 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.
Series History vs. Davidson
The Mountaineers last faced the Wildcats during the 2025-26 season, falling 74-55 at the Holmes Center on Nov. 12. Emma Smith led the Mountaineers in scoring with 16 points, while key returner Mitchell added 10 points in the loss.
Scouting the Wildcats
Davidson enters Wednesday's matchup 1-2 on the season, coming off its first victory of the year against Campbell (80-43) after dropping back-to-back games to Columbia and Virginia to open the season.
The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the A-10 Preseason Poll, trailing only Saint Joseph's. Davidson had two players earn preseason honors: first-team honoree Katie Donovan and third-team recipient Kyra Bruyndoncx. Three games in, Donovan leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game, with Bruyndoncx averaging 15.0 points per game. Donovan's top scoring performance came in the Wildcats' season opener against Columbia, when she posted 22 points and seven rebounds in a 71-65 loss.
Davidson finished the 2025-26 season 21-12 (12-6 A-10), falling to Rhode Island 55-46 in the second round of the A-10 Tournament.
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will continue their road trip as they travel to West Virginia to take on their first Power 4 opponent, Northwestern, on Saturday as part of the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
