PENSACOLA, Fla. - The No. 13-seeded App State women's basketball team (11-17, 4-14 SBC) is set to open its quest for a Sun Belt Tournament championship with a Tuesday matchup against No. 12 seed South Alabama at the Pensacola Bay Center. Tuesday's game is slated to tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Despite outscoring Old Dominion by six points in the final half of the game, App State couldn't overcome a sluggish first half and fell 75-65 in its regular-season finale to the Monarchs last Friday. App State honored its five seniors (
Elena Pericic, Zoe McCrary,
Jada Burton,
Emily Hege and
Emma Smith) before the game.
Daisia Mitchell paced App State's offensive attack with a team-high 15 points, while Smith fell one assist and two rebounds shy of a triple-double with 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Pericic finished with 12 points with two 3-pointers.
Last Time at the SBC Tournament
After earning the No. 6 seed thanks to a 9-9 record in Sun Belt play and a bye to the fourth round of the tournament, App State ran into a hot No. 11 seed Marshall, which entered play having won three games in a row to get to that point, and fell 75-66. Marshall outscored the Mountaineers by 14 points through the first three quarters.
Emily Carver and
Mara Neira led the Mountaineers in scoring with 23 points apiece, while Pericic poured in seven points. Pericic also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. App State scored 18 points off of Marshall's turnovers and netted 28 points from its bench unit.
Rankings Report
Smith continues to lead App State in scoring, averaging 10.8 points per game. Smith is also App State's top rebounder and assister, tallying six boards per game and 3.7 assists per game. Smith's rebounding and assist totals rank 14th and seventh in the Sun Belt, respectively. Mitchell also averages better than 10 points per game at 10.3. She enters the tournament as the team leader in blocks with 13.
The Mountaineers' defense continues to be their calling card, as they pace the Sun Belt in scoring defense, allowing just 61.3 points per game. Additionally, App State leads the league and ranks 30th nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage defense. The Mountaineers also stand in fourth place in the league in field-goal percentage defense, seeing 42.5 percent of their opponents' shots fall this season.
In Sun Belt play, Smith has upped her scoring average to 11 points per contest, while Mitchell ranks second on the team at 9.3 points against league foes. As a team, App State ranks fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 0.83, while also ranking fourth in scoring defense.
Last Time Against South Alabama
The Mountaineers and Jaguars last met on Jan. 29 in Boone, which saw the Mountaineers pull out a three-point win on their home floor. App State overcame an eight-point deficit after the first quarter by outscoring South Alabama by nine points in the second quarter. The Mountaineers then staved off the Jaguars with strong free-throw shooting late.
Mitchell and Smith paced the App State offense against South Alabama, combining for 32 points. Mitchell led the team in scoring with 17, while Smith tallied three assists, three rebounds and three steals. Hege led the team in assists with four, and Pericic grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
Addie Biel and Burton provided a nice spark off the bench with 15 combined points.
Scouting South Alabama
No. 12-seeded South Alabama owns a 12-17 record this season, which includes a 5-13 clip against Sun Belt opponents. The Jaguars enter play on Tuesday having won each of their last three games, which includes a 76-69 win over No. 2 seed Troy in the regular-season finale last Friday.
The Jaguars are led offensively by Amyah Sutton, who averages a team-best 11.9 points per game. Sutton also ranks fourth on the team in assists per game. Right behind Sutton in scoring is Cordasia Harris, who averages 11.1 points per game. Harris is South Alabama's best rebounder and best shot-blocker, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game and blocking 1.7 shots per contest. Harris' rebounding numbers rank fifth in the Sun Belt, while her blocks per game average is second in the league.
Similar to App State, the Jaguars boast a stout defense against the 3-pointer, as they enter the Sun Belt Tournament with the third-best 3-point field-goal percentage defense in the league. South Alabama is also one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, grabbing 40.8 boards per game, which ranks fourth in the Sun Belt and 37th nationally.
On the Horizon
With a win on Tuesday over South Alabama, App State would move on to the second round and face off with No. 9 seed Coastal Carolina at 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT). All games at the Sun Belt Tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game airing on ESPNU.
