Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 13)
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Story Leads Mountaineers to Two Wins, Arkansas State Wins 12th Consecutive Game
Appalachian State sophomore Madi Story led her squad to back-to-back wins last week, including a convincing win against second-place UL Lafayette, to earn the Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week, announced today. The Mountaineers (8-13, 5-7) defeated UL Monroe 64-52 on Saturday following a 76-59 win against UL Lafayette on Thursday to cap a 2-0 weekend.
Story played facilitator in the Mountaineers’ two wins as she led the team in points, points scored, free throws made and offensive rebounding and averaged 4.0 apg. In the victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns, Story scored a team-high 23 points, dished out 5 assists and grabbed 6 boards. She scored in a variety of ways on six buckets, a pair of treys and career-high nine free throws. She stepped it up in the 2nd half against UL Lafayette by scoring 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting and all 9 of her made free throws, including 11 in the final quarter where Appalachian exploded for 31 points. Story finished with a plus-16 in the +/- category and a team-high 22 PER (player efficiency rating). Story played a hand in 33 of the team’s 76 points (43 percent) as well.
Against ULM, her 18 points was a game-best and she scored 12 points in the second half while her plus-13 was a game-high and finished with a PER of 16. Story scored 30 of her 41 points in the second half over the two contests shooting 47 (8-17) percent from the floor. The Maiden, N.C. native recorded a team-high plus-29 last week as well. Story has taken on the leading scorer’s role averaging a team-high 12.1 ppg along with 4.3 rpg and 2.2 apg. In conference play, Story is 7th in scoring at a 14.0 ppg clip and ranks in the top 15 in apg. She’s scored in double figures in nine-straight games, the longest stretch by an App State student-athlete this season.
Several teams extended winning streaks over the weekend. Arkansas State (18-3, 12-0) extended its lead in the conference standings with two wins against South Alabama (58-51) and Troy (94-80) last weekend. The Red Wolves tied their 1992-93 team for the program's best ever mark through 21 games with the win on Saturday.. A-State also improved to 12-0 in Sun Belt play for the first time in school history and extended its school-record home winning streak to 22 contests. Little Rock (10-11, 8-4) won its fifth consecutive game while UT Arlington continued its recent run of winning three of its last four with a pair of wins in Georgia.
Recent Results
January 25 (Monday)
Georgia Southern 65, Appalachian State 50 *
January 26 (Tuesday)
South Alabama 75, Troy 71 *
January 28 (Thursday)
Arkansas State 75, Georgia State 54 *
Little Rock 69, Georgia Southern 36 *
Appalachian State 96, Troy 81 *
UT Arlington 60, UL Monroe 50 *
Texas State 46, UL Lafayette 42 *
January 30 (Saturday)
Arkansas State 77, Georgia Southern 54 *
Little Rock 59, Georgia State 32 *
UL Monroe 63, Texas State 59 *
UL Lafayette 63, UT Arlington 52 *
South Alabama 71, Appalachian State 55 *
February 2 (Tuesday)
UL Lafayette 52, UL Monroe 40 *
February 4 (Thursday)
Appalachian State 76, UL Lafayette 59 *
Arkansas State 58, South Alabama 51 *
UT Arlington 53, Georgia Southern 41 *
Georgia State 73, Texas State 62 *
Little Rock 79, Troy 64 *
February 6 (Saturday)
UT Arlington 74, Georgia State 45 *
Appalachian State 64, UL Monroe 52 *
Arkansas State 94, Troy 80 *
Georgia Southern 78, Texas State 64 *
Little Rock 74, South Alabama 43 *
Upcoming Games
February 9 (Tuesday)
UT Arlington at Texas State * - 1:00 PM
February 11 (Thursday)
Arkansas State at UL Lafayette * - 5:00 PM
Georgia State at South Alabama * - 5:00 PM
Little Rock at UL Monroe * - 5:15 PM
Georgia Southern at Troy * - 5:15 PM
Appalachian State at Texas State * - 5:30 PM
February 13 (Saturday)
Little Rock at UL Lafayette * - 2:00 PM
Arkansas State at UL Monroe * - 2:00 PM
Georgia Southern at South Alabama * - 2:00 PM
Georgia State at Troy * - 2:00 PM
Appalachian State at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
February 16 (Tuesday)
Troy at South Alabama * - 5:00 PM
February 18 (Thursday)
South Alabama at Appalachian State * - 4:00 PM
Arkansas State at Georgia Southern * - 4:00 PM
Little Rock at Georgia State * - 4:00 PM
UL Lafayette at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
UL Monroe at Texas State * - 5:30 PM
February 20 (Saturday)
Arkansas State at Georgia State * - 11:00 AM
Troy at Appalachian State * - 12:00 PM
UL Lafayette at Texas State * - 2:00 PM
Little Rock at Georgia Southern * - 3:30 PM
UL Monroe at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
* - Denotes Conference Game | All times central
WEEK 13 SUN BELT CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Madi Story
Appalachian State | Sophomore | Guard
Story played facilitator in the Mountaineers’ two wins over second-place UL Lafayette and UL Monroe last week, giving App State a 2-0 start to February, the second half of Sun Belt play and their first 2-0 finish during the week in league action. The sophomore guard led the team in points, points scored, free throws made and offensive rebounding and averaged 4.0 apg. In the victory over the Cajuns, Story scored a team-high 23 points, dished out 5 assists and grabbed 6 boards. She scored in a variety of ways on six buckets, a pair of treys and career-high nine free throws. She stepped it up in the 2nd half against ULL scoring 18 points on 4-8 shooting and all 9 of her made free throws, including 11 in the final quarter where Appalachian exploded for 31 points. Story finished with a plus-16 in the +/- category and a team-high 22 PER (player efficiency rating). Story played a hand in 33 of the team’s 76 points (43 percent) as well. Against ULM, her 18 points was a game-best and scored 12 points in the second half while her plus-13 was a game-high and finished with a PER of 16. Story scored 30 of her 41 points in the second half over the two contests shooting 47 (8-17) percent from the floor. The Maiden, N.C. native recorded a team-high plus-29 last week as well. Story has taken on the leading scorer’s role averaging a team-high 12.1 ppg along with 4.3 rpg and 2.2 apg. In conference play, Story is 7th in scoring at a 14.0 ppg clip and ranks in the top 15 in apg. She’s scored in double figures in nine-straight games, the longest stretch by an App State student-athlete this season.
PREVIOUS STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
11.17: Jaylen Gordon, UL Lafayette
11.24: Taeler Deer, Texas State
12.01: Shanity James, Little Rock
12.08: Angel McGowan, Georgia Southern
12.15: Alayshia Hunter, UL Monroe
01.04: Ashley Beverly Kelley, Troy
01.11: Khadija Brown-Haywood, Arkansas State
01.18:Ashley Beverly Kelley, Troy
01.25: Khadija Brown-Haywood, Arkansas State
02.01: Marquita Daniels, South Alabama
02.08: Madi Story, Appalachian State
AROUND THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
A-State Up to No. 55 in NCAA RPI
Arkansas State remains at No. 55 in the latest NCAA report posted Feb. 8. The Red Wolves are a league best 18-3 overall and are 12-0 in league play.
Home Sweet Home
The Red Wolves are also riding an astounding 22-game winning streak at home which is the best in program history for the A-State program. The streak is also tied for the sixth longest in the NCAA this season.
Speak of Good Starts
The 18-3 record posted by the Red Wolves through 21 games is tied for the best start in school history. The 12-0 start to league play is the best start in school history.
Ellis Leads Block Party
As a team, South Alabama now has 127 blocks on the season, which is fifth-most in program history, passing the ’14-15 squad which had 121. With her two blocks, Chyna Ellis moved into fifth place on South Alabama's single season chart. She currently has 60 on the year. With her two, two-block performances, Ellis has recorded two or more blocks in 18 of her 21 games played, including each of her last 14 outings.
Mavericks Hit the Road
UT Arlington continued its recent run of winning three of its last four with a pair of wins through Georgia. The Lady Mavericks are four games into their longest true road trip since the 1990-91 season at five games, seeking to tie the 4-1 mark for best five-game trip in program history when they play in-state rival Texas State on Tuesday.
Veal Claims Spot in Record Books
Senior guard Keke Veal moved into third place on the Ragin' Cajuns’ all-time scoring list against Appalachian State (1,372 points) with a game-high 27 points.