BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team will host Georgia Southern for its penultimate regular season game in the Holmes Center on Wednesday. Tipoff for the Mountaineers' Black Out and Stroll Night game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and fans will be able to stream the game on ESPN+.
Fans are encouraged to wear black to the game and there will be black rally towels available for the first 500 fans. Wednesday's action will also feature stroll performances from the Pi Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the Omicron Kappa chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the Mu Upsilon chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Psi Mu chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Rho Theta Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Omicron chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers rounded out their final regular season road trip with a stop in Harrisonburg, Va., where they fell short to James Madison, 74-48. Combining for 25 of App State's points, senior
Elena Pericic and sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli were the Black and Gold's top scorers. Pericic netted 14 points and drained two of App State's five 3-point buckets, marking her ninth game in double figures. She also combined with fellow senior
Emma Smith for six assists. Atli grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, marking her third game as the Mountaineers' top rebounder.
Rankings Report
Smith and junior
Daisia Mitchell match as App State's top scorers, averaging 10.4 points per game apiece. Mitchell has netted double figures in 17 games this winter, including five consecutive games from Jan. 23 to Feb. 7. Smith has netted double figures in 14 games, including seven games in a row from Jan. 10 to Jan. 31. She has also been the Mountaineers' top scorer in eight games. Additionally, Smith remains App State's top rebounder, averaging 5.9 boards per game. She also leads the team with 3.6 assists per contest and ranks third in the league in assist to turnover ratio (1.56).
App State holds steady as the Sun Belt's leader in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 60.7 points per contest. The Mountaineers also continue to lead the league and rank 21st in 3-point percentage defense (26.9) and stand third in the conference in assists per game (14.6) as well as field goal percentage (42.8%).
In league-only action, App State checks in at fourth in scoring defense, holding conference teams to an average of 65.5 points per contest. The Mountaineers also round out the top five in assists (14.19) and assist to turnover ratio (0.85).
Last Time Against Georgia Southern
In the opening week of Sun Belt play, the Mountaineers and Eagles met in Statesboro, Ga. on Dec. 20. App State fell short to Georgia Southern, 67-54. Netting 16 points, sophomore
Jayden McBride was the Black and Gold's top scorer. Additionally, McBride matched her career-high of four triples, which accounted for half of App State's 3-point buckets against the Eagles. Smith pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while
Emily Hege dished out a trio of assists.
Scouting Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern is 21-6 on the season and 14-2 in conference play. The Eagles have won four consecutive games from Feb. 11, picking up wins over Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Marshall and ULM. After meeting the Mountaineers on Dec. 20, Georgia Southern dropped a double-overtime battle to Old Dominion, 87-84 on New Year's Day. The Eagles' only other conference loss this winter came at the hands of James Madison on Jan. 17.
Four Eagles average double figures, led by graduate student guard Destiny Garrett, who averages 15.4 points per contest, ranking fourth in the Sun Belt. Garrett also leads the team in assists with 104 on the season. Senior guard/forward Kishyah Anderson, who averages 14.6 points per contest, leads the Sun Belt and ranks 51st nationally in field goal percentage (52.1%). Anderson is Georgia Southern's top rebounder, averaging 5.1 points per game.
Georgia Southern leads the conference and ranks 37th nationally in field goal percentage (45.1%). The Eagles also rank third in the league in assist to turnover ratio (0.96) as well as fourth in free throw percentage (71.3%), scoring defense (63.9), and turnover margin (2.44).
In conference-only play, Georgia Southern ranks second in field goal percentage (44.6%), 3-point percentage (34.0%), and third in assist to turnover ratio (0.96). Through 16 conference games, Anderson leads the SBC in field goal percentage (53.8%).
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will celebrate seniors
Jada Burton,
Emily Hege, Zoë McCrary,
Elena Pericic, and
Emma Smith for Friday's 6:30 p.m. Senior Night game against Old Dominion. The game will also be available for fans to stream on ESPN+.
