BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to participate in its fourth Education Day game of the 2025-26 campaign as the Mountaineers clash with Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be available for fans to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers (11-14, 4-10 SBC) snapped a four-game drought on Feb. 14 with a 73-67 Pink Day & Alumni Day victory over Georgia State. Senior
Elena Pericic sank a critical 3-point bucket to force overtime, where the Black and Gold outscored the Panthers, 13-7, to solidify the win. Pericic drained 4-of-6 from beyond the arch as well as 6-of-8 from the field for a team-high 18 points. Junior
Daisia Mitchell netted 15 points and combined with seniors
Emma Smith and
Emily Hege for 15 of App State's 21 assists, each dishing out five. Freshman
Addie Biel grabbed a team and career-high 10 rebounds and netted 12 points to register her first career double-double. App State held Georgia State to a 3-point percentage of 22.6% as well as seven second chance points.
Rankings Report
Mitchell and Smith continue to lead as App State's top scorers, averaging 11.0 and 10.0 points per contest. Mitchell has netted double figures in 17 games and has tallied a team-high 12 blocks this winter. Smith is App State's top rebounder, pulling down an average of 6.1 boards per contest. She also leads the team in assists, dishing out 3.7 per outing. In the Sun Belt rankings, Smith holds steady at second in the league in assist to turnover ratio (1.56) for the year.
The Mountaineers remain the Sun Belt's leader in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 60.0 points per game. App State also continues to lead the league and ranks 23rd nationally in 3-point percentage defense, holding opponents to an average of 6.2 3-pointers per game. App State also ranks among the Sun Belt's top five in assists per game (14.4), field goal percentage (43.1%), rebound margin (5.0), assist to turnover ratio (0.90), and defensive rebounds per game (26.0).
With four regular season Sun Belt games remaining, App State ranks third in the league in scoring defense, holding Sun Belt teams to an average of 64.9 points per game. The Mountaineers also round out the league's top five in assists (13.93), rebound margin (1.4) and assist to turnover ratio (0.83).
Last Time Against Coastal Carolina
App State and Coastal Carolina last met on Jan. 7 in Boone, where the Mountaineers fell short, 69-53 to the Chanticleers. Despite a slow start in the first 20 minutes of play, the Mountaineers outscored the Chants in the second half. Mitchell led the Black and Gold with 15 points on the night, followed by Pericic, who registered a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Additionally, Pericic knocked down two of App State's triples and led the team in assists, dishing out four.
Scouting Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina (12-15, 5-9 SBC) returns to Conway after splitting its weekend with a tight seven-point victory over Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. and a 67-56 loss to Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. Since meeting the Mountaineers in early January, the Chants picked up wins over South Alabama (Jan. 17), Southern Miss (Jan. 24), and Texas State (Jan. 20).
Four Chants average double figures, led by the scoring of junior forward Tessa Grady and graduate student guard Kristin Williams, who average 14.3 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Williams ranks second in the league and 11th nationally in total 3-pointers (78) as well as 17th nationally in 3-pointers per game (2.89). Grady joins Williams in the SBC's top three and the NCAA's top 30 in both categories with 76 3-pointers on the season, averaging 2.81 per contest. Williams also leads the Chanticleers in assists, averaging 3.3 per game. Coastal Carolina's top rebounder is fifth-year senior forward Tracey Hueston, who averages 6.3 boards per contest. Coastal Carolina leads the league and ranks among the nation's top 45 in free throws made per game (14.96) and 3-point percentage (34.8%). The Chanticleers also rank 16th nationally in 3-pointers per game (8.9).
Through 14 conference games, Coastal Carolina ranks second in the SBC in 3-point percentage (34.4%) and third in made 3-pointers, averaging 8.1 per conference clash. The Chants also rank third in defensive rebounds, averaging 26.9 per SBC game. Grady and Williams round out the top five in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers per game in league-only action.
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will close out their final regular season road trip with a stop in Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
