BOONE, N.C. – The App State women's basketball team fell short to Georgia Southern, 62-48, in its penultimate regular season game in Boone on Wednesday.
"This was obviously a really tough game for us. The second quarter, I thought we had a lot of rhythm and flow offensively," said head coach
Alaura Sharp. "It hurt us with
Feryal Defne Atli getting three fouls and with
Addie Biel being out. I was proud of them and how they weathered the storm a little bit and just obviously I'm really disappointed in the second half."
Senior
Emma Smith registered her 15th game in double figures and ninth game as App State's top scorer, netting 18 points. She also drained both of App State's 3-point buckets and shot 100% from the charity stripe. Also for a 14th game this winter, Smith was App State's top rebounder, grabbing seven boards. Graduate student
Jada Burton pulled down six rebounds for the Black and Gold, while senior
Elena Pericic dished out a team-high three assists.
App State netted 30 points in the paint as well as seven second-chance points. The Mountaineers held the Eagles to three offensive boards.
Georgia Southern was quick to take a 16-9 lead in the first quarter. Seven of App State's nine points in the first quarter were drained from the line, while Pericic registered the only layup in the paint during the period. Sophomore
Jayden McBride opened the second quarter with a layup of her own. The Mountaineers knotted the score at 18 all with a 7-0 run that featured layups from Pericic and freshman
Riley Stoker as well as Smith's first triple of the game. As Georgia Southern edged ahead, layups from Smith and Burton as well as a jumper from graduate student Zoë McCrary kept the Mountaineers within one (25-24). With 0:04 left in the half, Burton made a layup to keep App State within three after the first 20 minutes of play.
Momentum continued to carry in the Eagles' favor. Smith drained her second triple of the night with an assist from sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli to chip into the deficit. Despite a last-second jumper from Smith, the Mountaineers trailed Georgia Southern, 51-36, at the close of the period. Atli opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back jumpers. Despite an 8-0 run for the Black and Gold over the last 2:32 of play, the Mountaineers fell short to the Eagles, 62-48.
Up Next
App State will cap the regular season on Friday as it hosts Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m. for Senior Night. The Mountaineers will honor graduating seniors
Jada Burton,
Emily Hege, Zoë McCrary,
Elena Pericic, and
Emma Smith.
