App State Throttles Georgia Southern for Third Straight Win
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University (5-12, 3-3 SBC) put on a stellar performance in a convincing 87-56 victory over archrival Georgia Southern (3-14, 0-6 SBC) on Alumni Day in the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers' 31-point blowout win over the Eagles is the largest win in series history, while the three-game win streak is the first since the 2015-16 campaign. It's also the first three-game conference win streak since the 2014-15 season.
Appalachian clicked on both sides of the ball where five Mountaineers scored in double figures, while they held GS to 56 points on 28.4 percent shooting from the field and 22.9 percent from beyond the arc. App scored a season-high in points for a second straight contest and shot a solid 55.4 percent from the floor. App State did an excellent job moving the ball tying a season-high 21 assists on 31 buckets.
Tierra Wilson once again had her shot falling finishing a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-5 from deep for a game-high 21 points. The freshman guard set the tone scoring 19 of her points in the first half including 14 in the opening frame. Bayley Plummer registered a second straight double-double and her eighth of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Plummer added three assists with one block and one steal.
LaPresha Stanley scored 11 points and tied a career high with nine off the glass, bringing the freshman to just one board shy of her first-ever double-double. The bench gave the Mountaineers great minutes as they scored a season-high 34 points. Dominique Jeffery poured in a career-high 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting with five rebounds in 14 minutes, while Anna Perez Gomez chipped in with five points and three assists. Maya Calder was up to her usual ways with four points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The quartet of Gosnell, Jefferey, Gomez, and Calder finished the game shooting 13-of-22 (59 percent) with 18 rebounds and seven assists.
Nicola Mathews didn't shoot as she has been lately but did dish out a game and career-best eight assists with a personal-high six rebounds. Armani Hampton had a solid game as she chipped in with eight points and five rebounds. All nine players who got into the game scored with seven players notching at least one assist.
The Mountaineers led from start to finish with the Eagles tying up the game just once early in the first quarter at 5-5. Plummer's layup with 7:24 left in the first quarter broke the tie and gave App the lead for good. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Wilson pushed the lead to eight, 20-12, going into the second frame.
Appalachian turned it on the second period holding Georgia Southern to just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting thanks in large part to an impressive 7:45 scoring drought. Appalachian's superb display on defense helped extend the lead to 19, 38-19, following a layup from Gomez before the horn. Appalachian assisted on 11 of 14 field goals while holding a 30-12 edge on the glass. Wilson scored as much as GS in the first half with 19 points.
The second half was much of the same with the Mountaineers continuing the momentum as they never led by less than 16 points. A 10-0 run over the final 3:25 of the third frame ballooned the lead to 28 at the end of the quarter, 60-32. Appalachian cruised the rest of the way in the fourth quarter to give it a 9-4 mark in the last 13 contests against its archrival including back-to-back wins at home with both results by 25 points or more.
App dominated GS on the glass, 56-26, for the highest rebounding advantage this season. The Mountaineers corralled a season-high 20 offensive rebounds for 19 second-chance points, also a season-best. Appalachian outscored GS, 36-20 in the paint.
The Mountaineers will look to continue the win streak next weekend when they travel to Alabama to face the defending Sun Belt Tournament champions in Troy (Thursday) before facing another tough foe in South Alabama on Saturday.
Chants Cruise Past Georgia State
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team used a strong first half -- including a stretch of 18 unanswered points in the second quarter -- to take an early, commanding lead over Georgia State, and enjoyed a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half as the Chants defeated the Panthers 64-49 Sunday afternoon at the HTC Center.
Coastal improves to 10-7, 4-2 with its seventh straight win on its home court. Georgia State falls to 4-13 overall and remains winless in the Sun Belt at 0-6.
DJ Williams led all players in scoring with 22 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, her second straight game finishing one rebound short of a double-double. Williams also dished out four assists. Jas Adams added 11 points to round out Coastal's double-digit scorers.
The Chants held a 41-32 advantage in field goal shooting percentage, and out-rebounded the Panthers 40-33. Coastal scored 22 of its points off 17 Georgia State turnovers, and doubled the Panthers in paint points, 30-14.
The Chanticleer defense did an excellent job stifling Georgia State in the opening quarter, holding the Panthers without a basket from the floor until there were 57 seconds remaining. Georgia State finished the quarter 1-of-14 from the field, and scored three points on four attempts at the free-throw line. Williams paced the Chants with seven points in the first, and Coastal's 13-3 run to open the game allowed an eight point cushion heading into the next frame.
Georgia State's shooting did not improve in the second quarter as it made just two of its 12 attempts, bringing its first half shooting percentage to 11.5 percent. Coastal took full advantage of the Panthers' struggles, scoring 18 unanswered points over five minutes to take a commanding 31- 7 lead. Williams scored eight points during that span to push her first-half total to 15 points, and was dominant on the boards with eight rebounds.
The Panthers' shots finally started to fall as the second half began. Georgia State made seven of its 14 attempts in the third quarter, but Coastal's offense kept pace with the visitors and remained ahead by at least 14 points throughout the quarter.
Coastal used a 13-3 run over the final minute of the third quarter and first four minutes of the fourth quarter to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 24 points. Georgia State responded by scoring 11 straight points, but never managed to trim the deficit by more than 13 points.
Shay Fluker led the Panthers with 18 points, following by Janessa Murphy with 10. Francesca Minali led all players with 11 rebounds.
Coastal is back on the road next week as it heads to the state of Alabama to take on South Alabama (Jan. 18) and Troy (Jan. 20).
WITH FOUR DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORERS, SOUTH ALABAMA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TRIPS UP TROY, 79-68
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (11-5, 4-1 SBC) took down the Troy Trojans (7-9, 2-3 SBC), 79-68, with four-double digit scorers and helped head coach Terry Fowler collect his 50th win at South Alabama on Saturday at the Mitchell Center. The Jags are 4-1 to start Sun Belt Conference action for the first-time since the 2011-12 season.
Savannah Jones put up a 20-point effort as she shot 7-of-14 from the field, including 4-for-9 on three-pointers. The redshirt freshman also collected three rebounds and assisted on a pair of shots.
Chyna Ellis had a slow start, but picked it up after being held scoreless in the first quarter. The senior center recorded 13 points and grabbed nine boards, missing her eighth double-double of the season by one rebound, and had a pair of assists and steals to go with one block. Ellis has 276 career blocks and is four blocks away from becoming the all-time leader in SBC history.
Shaforia Kines and Erin Autio each recorded their fourth game of 10 or more points this season. Kines made a pair of shots, including a three-pointer, and went 7-of-7 on free-throw attempts for 12 points. She also grabbed five boards, had three steals and an assist. Autio collected 10 points on a 4-of-7 shooting night, making two of her four three-point attempts. The senior guard also had four rebounds and three assists.
Antoinette Lewis and LaNeetra Guillory each had nine points. Lewis grabbed six rebounds, while Guillory grabbed four and had a game-high three blocks. Genesis Perrymond recorded a game-high eight assists.
Amber Rivers scored a game-high 25 points for the Trojans on an 11-20 shooting night and grabbed eight rebounds. Rivers came into the matchup averaging 13 points per game.
LR Stays Perfect in SBC Play With 63-48 Win Over TXST
LITTLE ROCK – With a 15-point victory, first-place Little Rock women's basketball remained undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play as the Trojans took a 63-48 win over second-place Texas State on Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
There was no stopping Ronjanae DeGray as the junior put up a season-high 23 points off the bench for Little Rock (9-8, 6-0 Sun Belt) while going 10-for-11 from the field. Raeyana DeGray and Keanna Keys each put up 10 points and six rebounds while Monique Townson led the game with five assists and three steals in addition to her seven points and four rebounds. Little Rock had its second-best shooting performance of the season as it shot 55.6 percent (25-for-45) for the game and was 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the foul line.
Toshua Leavitt led Texas State (11-6, 4-2 Sun Belt) with 20 points as she made a game-high six three-pointers. Taeler Deer was the other Bobcat in double figures as she ended the game with 13. Texas State shot 32.7 percent (16-for-49) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from three and 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the charity stripe.
Ronjanae DeGray completely took over the game in the fourth quarter by scoring 11 of her 23 points. Little Rock took its largest lead of the game at 15 points with 3:04 left to play as Raeyana DeGray made a jumper to give her 10 for the game. The Trojans went 7-for-12 (58.3%) in the final 10 minutes while the Bobcats went 4-for-11 (36.4%).
Little Rock opened up a double-digit lead in the third quarter after outscoring Texas State 16-8. The Trojans took a 12-point lead at 44-32 as Terrion Moore made both of her free throws. Moore's points were at the end of an 8-0 Trojan run that saw Ronjanae DeGray score six consecutive points. Little Rock was 6-for-10 (60%) from the field as Texas State had its worst-shooting quarter of the game at 2-for-11 (18.2%).
After a rocky first quarter, things went much better for Little Rock in the second quarter as the Trojans outscored Texas State 20-8. Little Rock's big run came with 6:55 left in the period as the Trojans scored 10 unanswered points to retake the lead. Little Rock ended the half on a 16-4 run as it went to the locker room with a 30-26 lead. Little Rock was 7-for-13 (53.8%) in the quarter while Texas State went 3-for-13 (23.1%). Keanna Keys led the quarter with eight points.
Although the Trojans took a 4-0 lead to begin the game, the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run and did what they do best by making four consecutive threes to take an eight-point lead. Three of those threes belonged to Leavitt while one came from Deer. Both sides shot 50 percent in the period while Leavitt led the quarter with nine points. Raeyana DeGray led the Trojans with four points.
Moore finished the game with eight points, four assists and three rebounds. Kira Shepard and Yanina Inkina each scored two points for the game. Shepard also tallied two steals with one rebound, and Inkina had two rebounds.
Thirty-four of Little Rock's 63 points came in the paint — tied for its most this season.
Little Rock will put its unblemished Sun Belt record on the line again next Saturday as the Trojans host rival Arkansas State at 3 p.m.
A-State Earns Key SBC Victory Over UTA
JONESBORO, Ark. (1/13/18) – A season-high five Arkansas State women’s basketball players scored in double figures, including sophomore guard Starr Taylor with a career-high 20 points, and junior guard Akasha Westbrook registered her third double-double this season to lead the Red Wolves’ to an 85-80 victory over Sun Belt Conference preseason favorite UT Arlington Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena.
A-State, which improved to 8-0 in games immediately following a loss this season, ran its overall record to 9-8 and moved its Sun Belt record to 4-2. The Red Wolves also improved their home record to 6-3, while UTA now stands 8-9 overall and 2-4 in league games.
The Red Wolves set new season highs for points, field goals made (32) and field goal percentage (.516). In addition to Taylor’s career-best scoring night, Westbrook scored 18 points, Lauren Bradshaw posted 17, Tahlon Hopkins recorded a season-high 12 and Payton Tennison added 11.
Westbrook also led the squad on the boards with a career-high 11 rebounds, while Taylor posted a season-high five, Tennison a career-best five and Bradshaw hauled down five as well. Making just her sixth start this season, Tennison also handed out a game-high and career-best seven assists.
Rebekah VanDijk had a monster night for the Mavericks, recording 31 points and 18 rebounds. She hit 11-of-12 shots from the floor, helping the squad finish with a .475 shooting percentage. Not only did A-State finish with a higher field goal percentage, it also outrebounded UTA 37-30 and dished out five more assists, 17 to 12.
How It Happened (First Half):
UT Arlington built a 17-12 advantage with 2:44 to play in the first quarter, but a 3-pointer by Taylor just before the first quarter buzzer saw the Red Wolves hold a 19-17 lead after 10 minutes of play. The 3-pointer was part of a 9-0 run that bled into the second quarter and a 20-6 spurt that saw the Red Wolves lead 32-23 midway through the second frame. A-State pushed the advantage to 13, 40-27, with 1:45 to play in the half, but the Mavericks closed on a 7-0 run to trim the halftime lead to 40-34 for the Red Wolves.
Bradshaw provided 11 points in the first half, all coming in the second quarter, while Tennison scored or assisted on each of the first 12 points for A-State. Westbrook provided eight first half points along with five rebounds and four assists while Taylor also had eight points.
The Red Wolves shot 49 percent (16-33) from the floor, hitting 3-of-8 (38 percent) from 3-point range. UT Arlington knocked down 48 percent (14-29), but hit only 1-of-4 (25 percent) beyond the arc. A-State posted an 18-16 advantage on the glass and a 20-18 edge in paint points.
How It Happened (Second Half):
The Mavericks’ Aysia Evans hit a three to start the second half and extended their run to 10 points, closing the gap to 40-37 early. However, the Red Wolves responded with 7-0 run on a pair of layups by Westbrook and Hopkins and a three by Tennison to push their lead back to 10 points, 47-37, with 6:56 remaining in the third period.
Arkansas State’s lead swelled back to 13 points on two different occasions in the period and it entered the final quarter with a 63-51 advantage. Taylor opened the scoring in the fourth by hitting a jumper that gave A-State its largest lead of the day, 65-51.
Still leading 68-55 with 8:24 left in the game, the Mavericks went on a 17-5 run to cut its deficit to only one point, 73-72, at the 3:43 mark. VanDijk was responsible for eight points during the run and scored 16 points in the period to make it close down the stretch.
A-State never gave up the lead, but still led by only one point, 81-80, with 17 seconds remaining after a VanDijk layup. Hopkins hit a pair of huge free throws on A-State’s next trip the court and Westbrook sealed the victory with a steal on the Mavericks’ ensuing possession. She missed a shot on the fast break, but Taylor was there for a rebound and put-back to set the final score.
Cajuns Take Down ULM For Fourth Straight SBC Win
LAFAYETTE – 10 second half points from senior Simone Fields along with 14 points from senior Nekia Jones helped the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team get their fourth straight Sun Belt Conference win over the ULM Warhawks, 63-55, here at the Cajundome.
The win, Louisiana's seventh straight over ULM, pushes the Cajuns record over .500 as they improve to 9-8 (4-1 SBC), while the loss drops the Warhawks record to 4-12 (1-4 SBC) and it's their second straight loss.
Fields finished with a team high 16 points on 8-15 shooting, while Jones was 5-9 (4-7 from three-point range). Louisiana caused 14 turnovers in the game, 10 of which came in the first half, while they outrebounded ULM 39-30 with freshman Ty'Reonne Doucet leading the Cajuns in rebounds with eight.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Quarter): The Cajuns came out and snagged the lead early in the first few minutes of the quarter, while both teams struggled through the first three minutes of the quarter. In fact, ULM didn't get a field goal until Gabriella Cortez hit a layup at the 7:30 mark of the quarter, but the Warhawks were solid from the free throw line and they held a four-point lead after Cortez converted the old-fashioned three-point play.
But Louisiana's defense stayed strong through the quarter and they caused eight ULM turnovers through the quarter and as the quarter came down the stretch, the Cajuns started to convert on offense. A layup from Doucet with 10 seconds left in the quarter put the Cajuns up by three, with the score sitting at 14-11 in favor of Louisiana when the quarter wrapped up.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Quarter): The Cajuns were powered by Doucet's tenacity on the boards as she would grab six rebounds in the second quarter. Louisiana drove the basket well through the quarter drawing fouls and getting to the line, but they really pulled ahead during the middle part of the quarter on back-to-back three-point baskets from Jones.
Their biggest lead of the game, to that point, was at 11 thanks to one of those Jones three-pointers but, with the quarter halfway through, ULM began to chip away at the Cajuns lead. Helped by a Cajuns scoring drought that lasted roughly three minutes, ULM got the score within five points on two free throws from Cortez.
But the Cajuns didn't let that phase them as they sophomore Jasmine Thomas nailed a layup and Fields beat the buzzer on a layup to extend Louisiana's lead back to nine points, and the score sat at 32-23 when both teams headed into the locker room.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Third Quarter): ULM came out and hit the Cajuns with their best shot, as they started the half with a 10-3 run to cut the Cajuns lead to two points. Louisiana struggled for the first four minutes of the quarter and it wasn't until sophomore Malachi-Seraphin Williams nailed a jumper to end the drought.
Both teams then got into a two-minute scoring drought, with the Cajuns holding a four-point lead. Things then went back and forth, but with each team answering each other's scores and with 2:30 left in the quarter the Cajuns held a six-point lead with the score at 44-38.
Two free throws from ULM down the stretch cut the Cajuns lead to four points, with the Cajuns leading the Warhawks 44-40 as the quarter came to an end.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Fourth Quarter): Answering the run from ULM, the Cajuns came out and extended their lead back to 11 points with a 7-0 run. The run was started with a three-point shot from Jones, and back-to-back baskets from Fields that put the score at 51-40 in favor of Louisiana.
ULM's attempts to come back through the remainder of the game, where all shot down by a response from the Cajuns. Fields scored six of her 16 points in the quarter, including the final basket to put a nail in the Warhawks' coffin as the Cajuns came away with their fourth straight conference win, with the final score sitting at 63-55.