The final does not look all that impressive, but a road conference win is just what Appalachian needed. The Mountaineers had lost three conference road games, and won another in overtime. Appalachian extended a twelve point halftime lead to twenty points late in the game. Southern finished the game on a seven point run in the final minute to make the score look more respectable, but this game was never really in doubt for Appalachian.

Appalachian was dominated on the boards in the first half, getting outrebounded 22-13 by the Eagles. The Apps responded in the second half with an eleven rebound edge to win the battle on the boards. One disturbing statistic was the turnovers. Appalachian forced Georgia Southern into 14 first half turnovers while only committing three themselves. In the second half, Appalachian committed 19 turnovers, which is enough for an entire game. That is very uncharacteristic for the Mountaineers. Finally, after hitting 6/12 threes against Elon, Appalachian went back to their old form, and went without a three point basket for the entire game. Eventually, this has to improve. With Davidson and their zone defense coming to Boone on Saturday, Appalachian is going to have to hit some. Davidson is too big for Appalachian to rely on their post play.

Anna Freeman had her second big game in a row with 18 points and 6 rebounds, leading all scorers. Maryah Sydnor added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Courtney Freeman scored 15 points and snagged six rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey played another great defensive game with 11 rebounds and 7 steals, while also chipping in 7 points. From Kelsey, you will take that every game, although her weakness is her free throw shooting. She accounted for Appalachian’s six missed free throws by herself.