BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's basketball team will take on Kent State in the second installment of this season's MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+. Saturday's matchup will mark the first meeting between the Mountaineers and Golden Flashes.
Last Time Out
App State (10-12, 3-9 SBC) fought through 14 lead changes before falling short, 69-59, in a tight game against Troy on Wednesday. Tallying her seventh game as App State's top scorer and fourth consecutive game in double figures, junior
Daisia Mitchell led the team with 12 points. Senior
Elena Pericic, who scored 11 points, and graduate student
Jada Burton, who netted 10 points, combined for four of App State's five 3-point buckets against the Trojans. Senior
Emma Smith grabbed eight boards, recording her 13th game as App State's top rebounder.
App State scored 11 points off 11 Trojan turnovers and held Troy to 21.7% from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Mountaineers shot 88.9% from the charity stripe.
Rankings Report
Through 22 games, App State's top scorers are Mitchell and Smith with 10.8 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Mitchell has scored double figures in 15 games and leads the team in blocks, tallying 11 this winter. Smith has scored double figures in 12 games, including seven consecutive games from Jan. 10 to Jan. 30. Smith, who also leads the team in assists, dishing out 3.7 per contest, ranks second in the league in assist to turnover ratio (1.62). Additionally, Smith is the Mountaineers' top rebounder, grabbing 6.3 boards per game. The pair also lead the Black and Gold in steals with Smith averaging 2.1 per game and Mitchell averaging 1.5 per game.
App State continues to lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense, holding teams to 59.4 points per game. The Mountaineers also remain third in the league in field goal percentage (43.1%) and rebound margin (5.4).
MAC-SBC Challenge
App State is 3-2 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge, which was started during the 2023-24 campaign. The Mountaineers opened this season's challenge with a 65-45 victory over Western Michigan. Sophomore
Jayden McBride and Mitchell led the Mountaineers with 16 points apiece. Netting 11 points of her own, senior
Emily Hege combined with McBride for six of App State's nine triples against the Broncos. App State's top rebounder was graduate student Zoë McCrary, who grabbed seven boards.
Previously, App State defeated Ohio (Nov. 11, 2023) and Western Michigan (Feb. 10, 2024) in the first edition of the challenge.
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes improved to 10-12 on the season and 5-6 in MACtion after defeating Bowling Green, 73-64, on Wednesday. Kent State opened conference play with a four-game drought before snapping the streak with victories over Eastern Michigan, Ohio, Akron, and Buffalo from Jan. 10 to Jan. 24. In the first installment of this season's MAC-SBC Challenge, Kent State fell short to James Madison, 80-48, in Harrisonburg, Va, pushing them to 2-3 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Kent State defeated Troy during the 2024-25 season and Louisiana in the inaugural challenge.
Senior guard Dionna Gray rounds out the NCAA's top 35 in assists per game (5.2) and total assists (115). Averaging a team-high 16.9 points per contest is junior guard Mya Babbitt. Babbitt ranks among the NCAA's top 90 in points per game, total points (372), and 3-pointers per game (2.32). Junior center Riley Rismiller is Kent State's top rebounder, grabbing 6.0 boards per game.
Kent State leads the MAC and ranks among the NCAA's top 17 in free throw percentage (78.0%) and free throws made per game (15.95). The Golden Flashes also stand among the NCAA's top 60 in bench points per game (24.0) and offensive rebounds per game (14.0).
On the Horizon
App State resumes Sun Belt play with a pair of home games against James Madison and Georgia State next week. The Mountaineers will host JMU on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. for National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Prior to tipoff there will be a clinic on the concourse at 5:30 p.m. with App State women's sports teams. The first 200 fans will receive a free t-shirt and there will be a postgame autograph session with the women's basketball team. Wednesday's game will also be a Mountaineers Supporting Mountaineers night.
On Feb. 14, the Mountaineers will host Georgia State at 2 p.m. for Pink Day and Alumni Day. There will be a t-shirt giveaway for the first 100 students at the game. App State Women's Basketball alumni are encouraged to
register for weekend's activities. There will also be an autograph session with the team following Saturday's game.
