BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is set to close the regular season with a 6:30 p.m. Senior Night clash against Old Dominion. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers will honor seniors
Jada Burton,
Emily Hege, Zoë McCrary,
Elena Pericic, and
Emma Smith before tipoff on Friday. There will also be an autograph session following the game on Friday.
Last Time Out
In the Mountaineers' penultimate regular season game, App State fell short to Georgia Southern, 62-48. Senior
Emma Smith netted 18 points, recording her ninth game as App State's top scorer and 15th game in double figures. She also drained both of the Black and Gold's 3-point buckets and shot 100% from the charity stripe on Wednesday. Smith also registered her 14th game as App State's top rebounder, grabbing seven boards. Fellow senior
Elena Pericic dished out a team-high three assists. The Mountaineers held the Eagles to three offensive rebounds.
Rankings Report
Through 28 games, Smith leads the Mountaineers in seven categories. The Vestavia Hills, Ala. native averages 10.7 points, 2.4 free throws, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, and 34.0 minutes per game. She has also recorded a 3-point percentage of 34.9%. For the season, Smith ranks among the Sun Belt's top 10 in minutes per game, assist to turnover ratio (1.52), steals per game, assists per game, and total steals (56). Junior
Daisia Mitchell averages 10.1 points per game and has a field goal percentage of 41.1%, she also leads the team in blocked shots, totaling 13 this season.
App State remains the SBC's leader and ranks 28th nationally in 3-point percentage defense (27.4%) and continues to lead the league in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 60.8 points per game. The Black and Gold also ranks third in the conference in assists per game (14.3).
Entering the last Sun Belt regular season of the game, App State ranks fourth in scoring defense, holding SBC opponents to 65.3 points per conference contest, and fifth in assist to turnover ratio (0.83). Individually, Smith ranks second in the league in minutes per conference game, averaging 36.5 minutes per league clash.
Last Time Against Old Dominion
App State met Old Dominion on Jan. 14 in Norfolk, Va., falling short to the Monarchs, 65-54. Sophomore
Jayden McBride netted a team-high 15 points on the night, while Smith and Mitchell each netted 11 points. McBride and Smith joined forces with Pericic to grab 21 of App State's 46 rebounds, each pulling down seven. Smith also led the team with four assists. The Mountaineers pulled down 46 boards compared to ODU's 35.
Scouting Old Dominion
Old Dominion enters Friday's regular season finale with a 17-13 (8-9 SBC) record. ODU dropped Wednesday's contest to James Madison, 77-55, in Harrisonburg, Va. Since meeting the Mountaineers in January, the Monarchs posted wins over Marshall (Jan. 17), ULM (Jan. 28), Louisiana (Feb. 4), Ohio (Feb. 7), Georgia State (Feb. 19), and Coastal Carolina (Feb. 21).
Junior forward Riley Stack leads the nation and the Sun Belt in blocks, totaling 78 this year. She also ranks first in the league and sixth nationally in blocks per game (2.6). Averaging 13.0 and 11.7 points per game, respectively, senior guard Simaru Fields and graduate student guard En'Dya Buford are ODU's top scorers. Buford ranks third in the league in free throw percentage (82.3%) as well as fourth in steals (67) and steals per game (2.23). She also leads the Monarchs in the assists category, dishing out an average of 2.6 per game. The Monarchs' top rebounder is senior guard/forward Simone Cunningham, who pulls down an average of 5.8 boards per contest.
ODU leads the Sun Belt and ranks 11th nationally in blocks per game (5.6). The Monarchs also stand second in the league and ninth nationally in rebounds per game (42.97). Additionally, Old Dominion ranks among the NCAA's top 25 in offensive rebounds per game (15.4) and bench points per game (26.0). Through 17 Sun Belt clashes, ODU ranks among the conference's top five in rebounds (42.2), defensive rebounds (27.4), offensive rebounds (14.8), and rebound margin (2.3). The Monarchs also rank third in blocked shots (4.65). Individually, Stack leads the league in blocked shots, averaging 2.3 per conference contest.
On the Horizon
The Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship is slated for March 3-9 in Pensacola, Fla. The tournament bracket will be announced after the conclusion of Friday's final SBC regular season contest. Fans will be able to stream the tournament on ESPN+ and the championship game, scheduled for March 9, will be broadcast on ESPN2.
