BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team is headed to Troy, Ala. to challenge Troy on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CST) and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers (10-11, 3-8 SBC) split their week in Boone, delivering a 60-57 victory over South Alabama on Jan. 29 before falling short to ULM, 78-70, on Jan. 30. Graduate student
Jada Burton netted a season and team high 16 points against ULM. She also combined with senior
Emma Smith for eight of App State's 14 assists on the night. Smith, who netted 13 points of her own, drained three of the Mountaineers' six 3-pointers and recorded six steals. Smith, sophomore
Feryal Defne Atli and freshman
Riley Stoker accounted for 15 of the Black and Gold's 34 rebounds, each grabbing five boards.
Rankings Report
Senior
Daisia Mitchell is the Mountaineers' top scorer, averaging 10.7 points per contest, followed by Smith, who averages 10.4 points per game. Mitchell has been the Mountaineers' top scorer in six games this season and has netted double figures on 14 occasions this winter. Smith, who has scored double figures in seven consecutive games since Jan. 10 (12 games this season), rose to second in the SBC in assist to turnover ratio (1.65) and leads the team in assists, dishing out 3.9 per contest. She is also the Mountaineers' top rebounder, grabbing 6.2 boards per game.
App State leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense, holding teams to an average of 58.9 points per game. The Mountaineers also stand third in the league in field goal percentage (43.7%) and rebound margin (6.2). Additionally, the Black and Gold rounds out the conference's top five in assist to turnover ratio (0.90) and assists per game (14.4).
Series History vs. Troy
The Mountaineers and Trojans last met on Jan. 9, 2025 in Boone. App State fell short, 85-68, despite four Mountaineers scoring in double figures.
Zada Porter led the Black and Gold with 18 points, draining four of App State's 10 triples.
Eleyana Tafisi, who scored 11 points, combined with
Asjah Inniss for 12 rebounds, each grabbing six. The Mountaineers scored 13 second chance points as well as 13 points off turnovers. App State also held Troy to seven offensive rebounds compared to the Mountaineers' 16.
Scouting Troy
Troy is 18-4 on the season and 9-2 in Sun Belt play and stand tied with Georgia Southern for second in the Sun Belt standings through 11 games. The Trojans, who ranked ninth in last week's CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25, look to extend their current streak, having won their last three games against Georgia State (Jan. 24), Marshall (Jan. 28), and Coastal Carolina (Jan. 30). Troy's only conference losses came at the hands of Southern Miss (Jan. 3) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 22).
Troy's starting line of Fotuna Ngnawo, Zay Dyer, Emani Jenkins, Ashley Baez, and Rachel Leggett all average double figures, led by Ngnawo, who averages 15.0 points per contest. Dyer leads the Sun Belt and ranks among the NCAA's top five in double doubles (14), total rebounds (266), offensive rebounds per game (4.3), and rebounds per game (12.1). She also leads the conference and ranks among the nation's top 15 in defensive rebounds per game (7.8). Jenkins leads the Sun Belt and ranks 17th nationally in 3-point percentage (43.8%), while also ranking second in the league and 10th in the NCAA with 67 total 3-point buckets.
Troy leads the nation and the Sun Belt in rebounds per game (50.50) and offensive rebounds per game (18.5). The Trojans also lead the league and stand among the nations' top three in defensive rebounds per game (32.0) and rebound margin (13.8). Additionally, Troy leads the SBC in assists per game (15.7), made free throws per game (15.50), scoring offense (84.5) and scoring margin (15.4). In Sun Belt only play, Dyer and Ngnawo take the top two spots averaging 12.0 and 11.9 rebounds per conference contest. Through 11 SBC games, Jenkins is the league's leader in 3-point percentage (42.5%) and stands second in 3-pointers per game, averaging 2.8.
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers will pause Sun Belt action to take on Kent State in this season's second installment of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Kent, Ohio on Saturday. Fans will be able to stream the game on ESPN+.
