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Women’s Basketball 55 Chattanooga 59

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This game is just about as big as it gets for the Appalachian Women. This game has enough story lines that we might just leave something out. First place Chattanooga (15-3, 8-1) and third place Appalachian (12-3, 6-1) will battle for supremacy in the SoCon this evening. All of the other SoCon games will have tipped off before App and Chattanooga play, so this game may very well be for first place when the night is over with. Both teams have suffered only one SoCon loss, Chattanooga to a quicker Elon team, and Appalachian to a bigger Davidson team. Both teams have defeated teams from higher rated conferences on the road, and tonight will mark the first time Appalachian will play on the same court as ex-Mountaineer Ashlen Dewart since the 2011 SoCon Championship game, where Dewart conveniently missed two free throws that would have given Appalachian the championship.

Chattanooga began thir season with a surprising win over Tennessee. The Volunteers are to Chattanooga as UNC-Chapel Hill is the to the Mountaineers. Their nemesis from the ‘big city” who wears a color that dominates the state. Since, Chattanooga, has lost only on the road, to St. Mary’s, Auburn, and Elon in overtime. The Mocs are perfect at home.

Star center Faith Dupree was injured early in the season, which gave way for Ashlen Dewart to shine while Dupree was sidelined for nearly three months. Dewart transferred from Appalachian after her sophomore season, and is in the same recruiting class as Anna Freeman, Kelsey Sharkey and Courtney Freeman. Story says she was asked by Darcie Vincent to drop some weight. She refused, and transferred to Chattanooga to play with her sister on a whim. Dewart is the team’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, but is not nearly as dominant as her numbers would suggest. She is a tempo player, and simply cannot run with Appalachian’s pressing style of play. Dewart averages 24.2 minutes played per game and can be clumsy at times, as she leads the team in fouls and turnovers. To put it simply she can be beaten easily. I am sure Appalachian has circled this game on their calendar for awhile, not just because of the impact it will have on the conference standings, but because of how Dewart left. You just don’t leave Appalachian and get away with it. I can guarantee, no matter the result, Anna Freeman will have the last word in this rivalry before the season is over.

The Mocs play a frusturating style of offense. Their three pointers need to be falling for them to be successful. Coach Wes Moore may think he can pound the ball inside the post with Dewart and Dupree, who are both similarly sized women, and open up the long ball, but Appalachian plays some of the best defense in the conference. As soon as Dupree or Dewart put the ball on the floor, Appalachian will double down and force mayhem for the Mocs on offense. This will be a great game to watch, and it should be available for free at gomocs.com.

Postgame:

This game stunk for so many reasons. First off, listening to Chattanooga’s play by play broadcaster was atrocious. He called out officials by their name, Told to stick their whistles where the sun does not shine, and made sexist comments that suggested male officials do not know how to officiate the women’s game. How he still has a job is beyond me. Secondly, Chattanooga won this game how they always do, by hitting their three pointers. Get them out of their gym, and the story is different and always has been. Chattanooga did not shoot a great percentage from three, but did hit seven of them. The difference, Appalachian was 0/9 from behind the arc.

Ashlen Dewart had a huge double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but did not score in the second half. Taylor Hall also had a big double-double for the Mocs with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The rebounds were also another big story of the game. Chattanooga secured sixteen offensive rebounds in the game. Appalachian managed three double digit scorers, but neither was Anna Freeman, who only scored eight points.

These two teams are very close to each other in talent, and it all comes down to who hits the clutch shots. Chattanooga won this time around, but the Mocs will have to visit Appalachian in a month on senior day. Appalachian has now lost both conference games on the road that we considered big games. Davidson at the beginning of the month, and Chattanooga with Samford looming on Monday night. Appalachian really needs to steal one on Monday before returning home next weekend. The top five schools in conference play have separated themselves in the conference race. Appalachian has Samford on Monday and Elon at home next Saturday.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Chattanooga 9-1 .900 5-0 4-1 0-0 W6 16-3 .842 8-0 7-3 1-0 W6
Davidson 8-1 .889 5-1 3-0 0-0 W3 11-8 .579 6-1 4-6 1-1 W3
Elon 7-2 .778 4-1 3-1 0-0 L1 10-8 .556 7-2 3-6 0-0 L1
Appalachian State 6-2 .750 3-0 3-2 0-0 L1 12-4 .750 5-0 5-4 2-0 L1
Samford 6-3 .667 4-1 2-2 0-0 L2 9-9 .500 6-2 3-7 0-0 L2

Women’s Basketball 81 UNC-Greensboro 58

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Appalachian will host the UNCG Spartans on Sunday afternoon in a battle of two teams heading opposite directions. Appalachian is 5-1 in conference play while Greensboro is winless in conference action and have only won three games on the season overall. All of the games Greensboro has won this season have been at home, over Gardner-Webb, North Carolina Central and Norfolk State. The Spartans have lost six games in a row, none by less than 11 points. The Spartans have yet to score 70 points in a game this season.

Greensboro is being outscored by 17.4 points per game in conference play, but have played a couple of the conference heavyweights in Chattanooga, Samford and Elon. Greensboro’s leading scorer is freshman Lucy Mason, who is one of two Spartans to start every game. Mason is putting up 15.1 points per game. Janae’ Stevenson adds 10.8 points per game. In the past, Greensboro has always been a very athletic team, but sometimes, they get in their own way. Appalachian usually can force their game on the Spartans and capitalize on turnovers and fast break points.

Appalachian leads the conference in scoring offense at 72.2 points per game, while trailing only Chattanooga in scoring margin at +14 points per game. The Mountaineers also lead the conference in free throw percentage and field goal percentage while ranking third in field goal percentage defense. One thing the Mountaineers must focus on against Greensboro is the offensive boards. Charleston dominated the offensive glass on Friday Night, but Appalachian defended well enough to keep the Cougars at bay. Greensboro is second only to Charleston in offensive rebounds in conference play. We are sure the Mountaineers will focus at home, crash the boards, and run the break when they can.



 

Postgame:

Greensboro put up a good fight early on, but ran out of gas against Appalachian on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans ran out to a quick 18-9 lead at the 11:21 mark of the first half before Darcie Vincent finally called a timeout to regroup. Defensive adjustments were made, and the Mountaineers outscored Greensboro 28-13 for the remainder of the half, led by Farrahn Wood who knocked down a trio of three pointers over a span of four and a half minutes. The Mountaineers led by six points at halftime with Wood leading all scorers with nine points.

The second half saw Appalachian double their lead from six to twelve in just 2:21 and the lead slowly grew throughout the second half. Darcie Vincent was able to empty the bench in the closing minutes as the lead swelled over twenty points. Freshman Bria Huffman easily had her best game as a Mountaineer with eleven points in thirteen minutes of action. For the game, Anna Freeman led the Mountaineers in scoring with 18 points while adding seven rebounds and five steals. Raven Gary had a great overall game with nine points, ten assists and five rebounds. Maryah Sydnor had a another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

We are a little concerned with the number of three pointers Appalachian attempted on Sunday. They were 5/23, the most attempts since the loss to Davidson. Anna Freeman missed all five of her attempts, while Katie Mallow connected on just one of her six attempts. Appalachian (12-3, 6-1), now has thirteen games remaining before the conference tournament, and their toughest stretch of games are directly in front of them. This week provides their longest stretch since December between games. The next five games will set things up before the final weeks of the season. Appalachian will face Chattanooga and Samford on the road, before hosting Elon, hitting the road against Georgia Southern, and then returning home for the rematch with Davidson. That stretch includes four of the top teams in the conference and a visit to Statesboro, where the Mountaineers never seem to play well.

Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Chattanooga 7-1 .875 4-0 3-1 0-0 W4 14-3 .824 7-0 6-3 1-0 W4
Elon 7-1 .875 4-1 3-0 0-0 W7 10-7 .588 7-2 3-5 0-0 W6
Appalachian State 6-1 .857 3-0 3-1 0-0 W5 12-3 .800 5-0 5-3 2-0 W5
Davidson 6-1 .857 3-1 3-0 0-0 W1 9-8 .529 4-1 4-6 1-1 W1
Samford 6-2 .750 4-0 2-2 0-0 L1 9-8 .529 6-1 3-7 0-0 L1

Women’s Basketball 63 College of Charleston 55

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The Appalachian women hit the road for a one game road trip to Charleston on Friday evening. The Friday game is an oddity in SoCon play for both schools. Generally, the women’s teams play on Saturday and Monday, but this weekend, Appalachian will play a Friday evening  and Sunday afternoon game. Charleston enters the game at 3-3 in SoCon play, with all of their losses coming to conference contenders Davidson, Chattanooga and Samford, all in their last three games. The Cougars will have played the top four teams in the conference in a matter of twelve days by Friday evening. Although Charleston did not win any of those three games, their results have improved dramatically  since last season.

The past two seasons, Charleston has been the team that has been considered somewhat of an easy win in conference play. The Cougars have won thirteen conference games the past two seasons after a thirteen win campaign in 2009-10. This team seems to a little different than the past. Their conference wins include a two point win over a decent Elon team at home, a two point win over Georgia Southern on the road, and stomping of an athletic Greensboro team on the road. Call it a hunch, but this Charleston team does not seem to be the pushover they once were.

The Cougars are led by Latisha Harris, who is scoring a very respectable 14.2 points per game and also grabbing 8.8 rebounds per contest. She is complimented by Alyssa Frye who averages 10.9 points per game and has already hit an amazing 42 three pointers this season. Cathryn Hardy also chips in a very solid 8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Seems the Cougars have two players they can go to in the post, and a third player who can stretch the defense on the perimeter. Appalachian will have to keep Frye in check on the outside, by limiting her shots, which in turn will allow them to focus on rebounding the ball on missed shots. Charleston only shoots 34% as a team from the field, but does average 16 offensive rebounds per game.

As we all know, The Mountaineer trio of Freeman, Freeman & Sydnor lead the team in scoring and rebounding. We have talked about Maryah Sydnor stepping up her game the last couple weeks which has had a direct toll on the production of Anna Freeman. It seems that SoCon teams are content with Sydnor scoring as long as Anna does not get hers. All three players average  over 14 points and five rebounds per game. In conference play, Sydnor leads the team with 18.8 points per game, followed by Courtney’s 13.6 points per game. Katie Mallow has also stepped up in conference play averaging 10.6 points per contest. The Mountaineers three losses have all come on the road, while two of their four road wins have come in overtime.

Postgame:

Appalachian State gutted out an eight point win over Charleston on the road on Friday night. Appalachian jumped out to a quick 15-10 lead in the first half before allowing Charleston to go on a 16-0 run in a matter of 5:52. In the final 5:52, Appalachian countered and ended the half on a 17-4 run of their own, taking a two point lead into the second half. The score was tied four times in the first hald and the lead changed hands twice.

The second half was a much closer battle. The largest lead any team held in the final frame was in the final minute when Appalachian was sealing the game with free throws. Charleston lead at only one time in the second half at 51-50, but it was a short lived lead that lasted all of twenty-seven seconds. The Mountaineers did not play their best game offensively, with 21 turnovers and shooting only 39.3% from the floor. The Mountaineers gave up 23 offensive rebounds to the Cougars, who attempted thirty three pointers, only making four of them.

Charleston took the game to Appalachian. They heaved up as many open shots as possible and attacked the glass. The Cougars accumulated thirteen steals and resembled Appalachian in many ways. Charleston has made obvious improvements since last season, and are not an easy win. Where Charleston was deficient was shooting free throws. They hit only 11/25 attempts and most of them were very bad misses.

Friday was an important day in SoCon Women’s hoops. Chattanooga did their job of taking down Davidson on the road. Elon and Samford both won, keeping the race for the conference title very tight at the top. Five teams have one loss while Appalachian and Davidson are in a tie for fourth, having played one less game than Chattanooga, Samford and Elon. Appalachian hosts UNCG on Sunday afternoon before facing the western road trip of Chattanooga and Samford next weekend.

Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Chattanooga 6-1 .857 4-0 2-1 0-0 W3 13-3 .813 7-0 5-3 1-0 W3
Elon 6-1 .857 4-1 2-0 0-0 W6 9-7 .563 7-2 2-5 0-0 W5
Samford 6-1 .857 4-0 2-1 0-0 W4 9-7 .563 6-1 3-6 0-0 W4
Appalachian State 5-1 .833 2-0 3-1 0-0 W4 11-3 .786 4-0 5-3 2-0 W4
Davidson 5-1 .833 2-1 3-0 0-0 L1 8-8 .500 3-1 4-6 1-1 L1
College of Charleston 3-4 .429 1-2 2-2 0-0 L4 7-9 .438 3-3 4-6 0-0 L4
Western Carolina 2-4 .333 2-2 0-2 0-0 L3 4-11 .267 3-5 1-6 0-0 L3
Furman 2-5 .286 1-2 1-3 0-0 L2 6-10 .375 4-3 2-7 0-0 L2
Georgia Southern 1-6 .143 1-1 0-5 0-0 L3 2-14 .125 1-3 0-10 1-1 L3
Wofford 0-6 .000 0-3 0-3 0-0 L6 5-9 .357 1-4 3-5 1-0 L6
UNCG 0-6 .000 0-3 0-3 0-0 L6 3-12 .200 3-7 0-5 0-0 L6

Women’s Basketball 68 Wofford 65

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Appalachian travels to Wofford on Monday night for another SoCon road game. The Terriers are struggling mightily this season, having lost five straight games, and are currently winless in the SoCon. Wofford notched a impressive win at Alabama in December, but have not won since that game. To think that the same Western Carolina team that Appalachian just throttled on Saturday beat Wofford by fourteen is tough to imagine. Western is terrible, and it is hard to believe that there is a team in the league that they can beat. Wofford has lost its last three games by double digits and has averaged a mere 47.3 points per games in those three games.

Daniella Motley leads Wofford bu averaging a double-double at 10.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per games. Motley has grabbed double digit rebounds in eight games this season. Motley leads the team in minutes played, but is only a 33% free throw shooter. Rachel Brittenham is one of the better point guards in the league at 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Brittenham had a career high eleven assists against the Mountaineers last year.

Appalachian is in a four way tie for second place in the SoCon, as Chattanooga, Elon and Samford also only have one loss in conference play. All four second place teams are in action on Monday night, with Chattanooga hosting 3-2 Charleston being the highlight of the four SoCon games. Appalachian, Samford and Elon should  win easily. Davidson plays Furman on Tuesday.

Postgame:

We are not going to pretend we know a lot about this game, since our attention was focused on the men’s game at home tipped off an hour after the women tipped in Spartanburg. For whatever reason, Appalachian has a tough time winning easily in Spartanburg. Several games in the Vincent era have been won in the Sparkle City, but not very easily. Appalachian held and eleven point lead at halftime, but allowed Wofford to come back on tie the game at halftime.

It appears both team traded baskets for much of the second half, as the two teams combined for thirteen tie scores and twelve lead changes for the game. Wofford (5-9, 0-6) hit big buckets at the end of regulation and the first overtime to tie the game and force extra periods.

Appalachian (10-3, 4-1) held huge advantages on the free throw line and on the defensive glass. Appalachian only attempted two more free throws than Wofford, but turned that into ten extra points. The Mountaineers also dominated Wofford on the glass, holding a fourteen rebound advantage, mostly on the defensive end. However, it was 35 Mountaineer turnovers that kept Wofford in the game and forced the Mountaineers to work ten extra minutes to get the win.

Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 23 points while also adding fourteen rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Sydnor was named SoCon Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon after leading the conference in scoring the previous week. Katie Mallow added 14 points while Courtney Freeman chipped in twelve points. Anna Freeman was held to single digit scoring for the second time in four games.  Despite a lack of scoring production, Anna added fourteen rebounds, six assists, five blocks and four steals.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Davidson 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 3-0 3-6 1-1 W3
Chattanooga 5-1 .833 4-0 1-1 0-0 W2 12-3 .800 7-0 4-3 1-0 W2
Elon 5-1 .833 3-1 2-0 0-0 W5 8-7 .533 6-2 2-5 0-0 W4
Samford 5-1 .833 4-0 1-1 0-0 W3 8-7 .533 6-1 2-6 0-0 W3
Appalachian State 4-1 .800 2-0 2-1 0-0 W3 10-3 .769 4-0 4-3 2-0 W3

 

Women’s Basketball 77 Western Carolina 46

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Appalachian will host in-state rival Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon as the first part of a doubleheader starting at 2pm at the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers (8-3, 1-1) have defeated Western Carolina (4-9, 2-1) seven straight times including in last year’s SoCon Tournament. The Catamounts are surprisingly over .500 in conference play, although their win are over some conference cellar dwellers. Neither UNCG nor Wofford are considered contenders in conference play. The fourteen point win over Wofford win looks pretty good when you consider their scrappy style of play. However, their loss to Georgia Southern is confusing. No matter how you slice, Western is 2-1 against teams who are 1-12 in conference play. The Catamounts have beaten up on the bottom of the conference.

Western Carolina is led by senior Diamond Hunicutt who leads the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game. Hunnicutt is one of two players on the Western roster to start every game. The other is Ali Lane, who was named to the all-freshman team last year while starting 29 of her 31 games. Lane led the team in steals last year and is second on the team with 14 steals this season. Lane averages 7.5 points per game. Western’s roster features three players with who have hit at least ten three pointers on the season.

Appalachian continues to be lead by its talented threesome of Anna & Courtney Freeman and Maryah Sydnor. Anna scored her fewest points of the season in her last two games. Anna scored nine against Davidson and ten against Furman. Despite only scoring 19 points in her last two games, Anna is still averaging 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to go along with 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per contest. Courtney Freeman is on a similar slump, perhaps because she started the season so hot. Courtney has cooled off to scoring 14.8 points per contest while grabbing 6.3 rebounds. Sydnor continues to play strong, as she has bumped her average up to 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Raven Gary continues to get back into game shape, as she is the team’s best ball handler. Gary chips in 5.9 points and 3.7 assists a game in the eight games she has played in this year.

Postgame:

There was not much to say from this game. Western Carolina is vastly inferior to Appalachian. The Catamounts had more fouls than points for a large majority of the first half. By the time Western Carolina broke double digts, as in scoring their tenth point, the Mountaineers had already built a twenty-nine point lead, and the margin stayed around that number most of the game. The Mountaineers cruised to a 77-46 win.

Lindsay Simpson was the only Catamount to score in double figures with 15 points. Simpson was responsible for the only two three pointers the Catamounts were able to make. Western shot 27% for the game, and their starting five managed only four baskets on twenty-six attempts. Only three of Western’s sixteen field goals were assisted on.

Appalachian’s terrific trio paced them once again in scoring. Courtney Freeman led all scorers with 19 points. Anna Freeman added 17 points, 9 rebounds and five assists. Maryah Sydnor contributed with 16 points, 8 rebounds and four assists. Appalachian only made two three pointers, something it needs to improve on. Vincent emptied the bench in the rout, with every players seeing action. Khadejah Wilkerson was not dressed out Davidson and was not on the bench that we noticed on Saturday. Via instagram, we took note to a foot injury she may have sustained so it is possible that she will redshirt.

Next up for Appalachian is Wofford on Monday evening.

Davidson 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 3-0 3-6 1-1 W3
Chattanooga 4-1 .800 3-0 1-1 0-0 W1 11-3 .786 6-0 4-3 1-0 W1
Elon 4-1 .800 2-1 2-0 0-0 W4 7-7 .500 5-2 2-5 0-0 W3
Samford 4-1 .800 3-0 1-1 0-0 W2 7-7 .500 5-1 2-6 0-0 W2
Appalachian State 3-1 .750 2-0 1-1 0-0 W2 9-3 .750 4-0 3-3 2-0 W2
College of Charleston 3-2 .600 1-1 2-1 0-0 L2 7-7 .500 3-2 4-5 0-0 L2
Furman 2-3 .400 1-1 1-2 0-0 W2 6-8 .429 4-2 2-6 0-0 W2
Western Carolina 2-3 .400 2-1 0-2 0-0 L2 4-10 .286 3-4 1-6 0-0 L2
Georgia Southern 1-5 .167 1-1 0-4 0-0 L2 2-13 .133 1-3 0-9 1-1 L2
Wofford 0-5 .000 0-2 0-3 0-0 L5 5-8 .385 1-3 3-5 1-0 L5
UNCG 0-5 .000 0-3 0-2 0-0 L5 3-11 .214 3-7 0-4 0-0 L5

 

Women’s Basketball 66 Furman 52

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The best possible scenario for Appalachian to forget that dreadful second half at Davidson is to get back on the court as soon as possible. That is what the Mountaineers will do when they play their second straight road conference at Furman on Monday night. The Paladins have been a scrappy team in the past, one that relies heavily on the three pointer. Furman’s last win in the series came in 2011 when the Paladins hit a game-winning three pointer in the closing seconds to defeat the Mountaineers by one.

Furman (4-7, 0-2) went an entire month without a victory following their victory over Mercer on November 24th. Their next win came on December 29th, a win over USC-Upstate. Despite their unattractive wins, three of the four Paladin wins have come at home. Furman’s Timmons Arena, is a tough place to play, mainly because it is not suited for basketball. The depth perception for a shooter is tremendously different from one half to the next. If you have ever been there, you know what we are talking about.

In their eleven games, the Paladins have used a slew of starting lineups. Only Teshia Griswold has started every game. Eleven players have started at least one game, and those same eleven average double digit minutes on the season. Griswold averages 14.4 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. Brittany Hodge leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 boards per game while chipping in 7.2 points per contest. Sarah Durdaller averages 14.2 points per game, but did not play at all during Furman’s six game losing streak.

Appalachian boasts three players in double figures in Anna Freeman (19.4), Courtney Freeman (15.6) and Maryah Sydnor (13.1). Anna scored a season low nine points against Davidson. Sydnor led all scorers with 15 points and is coming on as the season progresses. Sydnor had a slow start to the season but has just recently upped her scoring average into double figures.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak Record Pct Home Away Neutral Streak
Chattanooga 3-1 1.000 2-0 1-0 0-0 W3 10-3 .833 5-0 4-2 1-0 W2
College of Charleston 3-1 1.000 1-0 2-0 0-0 W3 7-6 .583 3-1 4-4 0-0 W3
Davidson 3-0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2 6-7 .417 3-0 1-6 1-1 W1
Elon 3-1 .667 1-1 1-0 0-0 W2 6-7 .417 4-2 1-5 0-0 W1
Samford 3-1 .667 2-0 0-1 0-0 L1 6-7 .417 4-1 1-6 0-0 L5
Western Carolina 2-2 .667 2-1 0-0 0-0 W1 4-9 .333 3-4 1-4 0-0 W1
Appalachian State 2-1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 L1 8-3 .700 3-0 2-3 2-0 L2
Furman 0-3 .000 0-0 0-2 0-0 L2 4-8 .364 3-1 1-6 0-0 W1
Wofford 0-3 .000 0-0 0-3 0-0 L3 5-6 .455 1-1 3-5 1-0 L3
UNCG 0-4 .000 0-2 0-1 0-0 L3 3-10 .250 3-6 0-3 0-0 L3
Georgia Southern 1-3 .000 0-0 0-3 0-0 L3 2-11 .083 0-2 0-8 1-1 L9

Postgame:

It was an absolutely ugly first half, but Appalachian fought off one Furman push after another to hold on for a fourteen point road win on Monday evening. Appalachian struggled from the free throw line for the first time all season long. We hinted about not getting the chance to get to the line at Davidson and then the poor shooting backdrop at Furman. At one point in the game, the Mountaineers were 4-14 from the line, but finished the game 16-29. Appalachian also dominated Furman on the boards 44-30, with a 16-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers took better advantage than Furman in the turnover battle. Appalachian forced 24 turnovers from Furman, 16 of them being straight steals.

The Appalachian sophmores led the team in scoring with Maryah Sydnor scoring a game high 21 points and added six rebounds. Katie Mallow scored 15 points with the help of a trio of tree pointers, while dishing out four assists. Anna Freeman continues to be shut down, and she only managed 10 points, but did corral 13 rebounds for a very solid double-double. Kelsey Sharkey also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Around the conference, Elon knocked off Chattanooga at home in overtime, giving the Mocs their first conference loss. Davidson defeated upstart Charleston on the road to remain undefeated in conference play. The loss was Charleston’s first conference loss of the season as well. Appalachian hosts Western Carolina on Saturday at home, who just lost to Georgia Southern, giving the Eagles their second win of the season. Conference standings are updated above, but the positioning is off. Charleston will visit Samford on Saturday in the only other game of interest for the rest of the week.

Women’s Basketball 49 Davidson 65

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For the Appalachian women, this game is hard to consider a must win, since it is only the second conference game of the season, but this game means plenty for the team and coaches. Davidson was a favorite to win the conference this season after having a big season last year and sweeping the series with the Mountaineers last year. However Davidson has played a tough schedule outside of the conference and has struggled while playing many of their games on the road. Appalachian has won every game it has supposed to while falling only twice this season, on the road against teams from power conferences.

Both teams have defeated Georiga Southern at home to start conference play. Davidson knocked off the Eagles by twelve while Appalachian cruised to a thirty-two point win. Davidson (4-7, 1-0) was won both of its home games, but none by a convincing fashion. Davidson has scored 63 points once this season. That is the game they prefer to play, a possession oriented style. In fact, the Wildcats have managed sixty or more points in only three games this season. The way to beat Davidson is with Appalachian’s pressure, something they were unable to establish last year. Sophia Alexandravicious leads the team in points and rebounding and was a favorite for conference player of the year. Laura Murray is a capable guard, but Appalachian should be too much for Davidson tomorrow. Appalachian has been scoring points in bunches, and are a better team than last year at this point. Davidson is missing some pieces so I expect a Mountaineer win, which will be huge in the race for the conference title and conference championship seeding implications.

Postgame:

Appalachian allowed Davidson to creep back into the game one too many times in first half on Saturday, and it eventually led to their demise as the Wildcats rallied from a tied game at halftime, to win going away, 65-49. It was the fewest points Appalachian scored all season, with their previous low coming last weekend on the road at West Virginia.

Generally, when an officiating crew allows the teams to play, especially for Appalachian, it has been a good thing. On Saturday, against a Davidson team with slightly more size, a game with fewer fouls calls actually hurt the Mountaineers. It allowed Davidson to be more physical, and kept Appalachian off the free throw line. Appalachian leads the country in free throw percentage, which is a huge advantage, except when the Mountaineers only get to the line eight times like on Saturday. If you keep Appalachian off the line, you have neutralized a strength.

Davidson also switched to zone defense, which aided the fewer foul calls. Appalachian could not shoot out of the zone. The Mountaineers were 4/25 from behind the arc, and 2/16 in the second half, where Davidson switched to the zone defense exclusively. Not many teams can play zone against Appalachian, as most of the other teams in the conference do not have the size on the perimeter, to keep Appalachian out of its high post offense. Even in the zone, Davidson was able outrebound Appalachian by ten, which is another huge advantage. Davidson executed a great game plan and it worked. I do not think Davidson is more talented, but was able weaken the strengths of Appalachian. For the record, the Mountaineers shot 32% for the game, and commited 20 turnovers.

For the rest of the season, the Mountaineers will be chasing. They are the first contender in the conference with a loss in the SoCon play. Luckily Appalachian has some very winnable games until the run into the back to back games against Chattanooga and Samford. It has been a long time since Appalachian has lost two games in a row, and with class starting back in a week, I think the Mountaineers will get back into a groove. The holiday break in Boone can be tough on student athletes without many friends in town, the weather turning, and nothing but practice and once a week games on their schedules. This team thrives on repitition and games. It’s a dark spot for the season, but this team will it around.

Women’s Basketball 67 West Virginia 72

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Pregame:

It has been a long ten day break for the holidays for Appalachian State women’s basketball. Their last time out, they used a big second half run to close out East Tennessee State to claim their sixth straight win. Their opponent on Friday evening is the only other Division I school that bears the same mascot as Appalachian, the Mountaineers of West Virginia. This game appears the be a battle of rebounds as both teams average close to six more rebounds than their opponents on the year.

West Virginia (7-3) has won 24 games or more in three straight seasons and has been a power in the Big East in the past. This season marks the inaugural season for the WVU in the Big XII. West Virginia features three double digit scorers and has used the same starting lineup in every game except one this season. Ayana Dunning leads the team with 11.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. West Virginia’s lone perimeter threat is Taylor Palmer who has hit 19 three pointers on the season. Crystal Leary has yet to start a game, but plays the role of a truly selfish player off the bench. Leary averages 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

West Virginia appears to be a team that resembles Appalachian very well so the matchup should be quite interesting. Both teams foul more than their opponents, but also force turnovers and move the basketball well on offense. Six of West Virginia’s ten games are against teams with winning records, with a seventh opponent sitting at 6-6, which provides WVU with a lofty RPI of 46, with their strength of schedule ranked 34th in the country. Appalachian will be WVU’s seventh top 100 RPI opponent, while Appalachian will be facing its highest rated RPI opponent of the season.

According to social media sources, it seems that a few Appalachian players had some issues getting to Morgantown, WV due to the severe weather conditions of the past few days. It will be something to keep an eye on as this game wears on, to see how focused the black and gold are about this game. RealtimeRPI.com scouts this game as a 12 point loss for Appalachian.

Postgame:

Appalachian mounted a furious comeback in the second half for before falling on the road at West Virginia on Friday night. The Apps trailed by as much as twenty one points in the second half before tying the game at 65 with two and half minutes to play. West Virginia won the battle on the free throw line as time expired to give them a 72-67 win. West Virginia went to the line 26 times for the game while Appalachian was only granted 15 free throw attempts. Appalachian falls to 7-2 on the season, both losses coming to members of major conferences by single digits on the road.

As has been Darcie Vincent’s strategy in the “bigger” games on the schedule, she used a rotation of just a very few players. Seven players saw action for Appalachian, including Raven Gary, who saw just six minutes in her first action since foot injury that has kept her sidelined for several weeks. The remaining 194 minutes were divided amongst six players, which means each players plays about 32 minutes, if all things were equal. The problem with a predominantly six man lineup to play an entire game, is that you gamble with your gameplan and your scheme to beat your opponent. Every player must show up on that given night. Unfortunately for Appalachian, every player didnt have their signature game against WestVirginia.

What we saw was a typical game from Anna Freeman, who finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals. However, Anna uncharacteristically turned the ball over six times, doubling her previous high turnover mark of the season. Courtney Freeman did not have her typical game at all. Courtney only managed four points and six rebounds. Maryah Sydnor is shaking off her slow start to the season, as she scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. Katie Mallow added 13 points, sparked by nailing a trio of three pointers. Michelle Taylor and Raven Gary did not score, combining to miss all five of their field goals attempts.

Overall, it was a good effort by Appalachian after a ten day layoff. They have been in every game they lost this season in the final minutes which is a huge plus. Appalachian will now hit the conference slate for nineteen straight games before the conference tournament. First up is Davidson on the road next Saturday at 3pm, and at Furman on January 7th.

Women’s Basketball 85 ETSU 57

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Appalachian continues its non-conference schedule for their first game of the season while school is on break as they travel to long time rival East Tennessee State. The Mountaineers (6-1) are looking for the sixth straight win since dropping their road opener at Virginia Tech by three points. Appalachian has won three straight games in the series, most recently a twenty-four point win last season in Boone.

East Tennessee State (2-3) owns wins over Morehead State and Memphis, while they have lost by double digits in all of their three losses. Most recently, the Bucs lost to Louisiana State by thirty four points, and to Chattanooga by thirty three points. The Bucs have only made fifteen three pointers in their five games, while giving up 5.8 three pointers to their opponents. The Bucs do a really good job on the offensive glass, averaging seventeen offensive caroms a game. The Bucs are sloppy though, giving up 22 turnovers a game, which holds them to 61.2 points per game.

Appalachian has been on an extended break, not playing since a December 3rd win over conference opponent Georgia Southern. Appalachian held the Eagles to 43 points, in what could be considered their best defensive performance of the season. Appalachian forced 24 turnovers while only allowing sixteen made field goals. Georgia Southern was 1/21 from behind the arc.

Anna Freeman is eight points away from scoring her 1,500th point. Freeman leads the team with 21 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Playing a strong second fiddle is senior guard Courtney Freeman who graduated over the weekend. Courtney is averaging 18.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, good enough for second on the team in both categories. Maryah Sydnor is scoring 10.6 points per game after a slow start to the season. Sydnor is also grabbing 5.9 rebounds a game, good enough for third on the team in both major categories. As a team, Appalachian is outscoring their opponents by almost twenty points per game.

Update: Raven Gary will not play tonight.

Postgame:

Appalachian shook off a sluggish first half on defense to run away with a 85-57 win on the road at East Tennesee State. Appalachian led by four points at the break after leading by as many as 13 points in the first hald before allowing the Bucs to climb back into the game before halftime.

The second half was tight for the first seven minutes, and saw ETSU take their first lead of the game with 12:59 to play in the second half. That is where the game changed drastically. The lead ETSU took was their last of the game, and the field goal that put them on top was also their last made basket of the game. Yes, ETSU basically went the last thirteen minutes of the game without a bucket. From that point, Appalachian went on a 36-7 run to end the game. Appalachian scored nine points in the first seven minutes of the second half, but averaged 2.7 points per minute in the final third of the game.

The top free throw shooting team in the country, Appalachian improved that number hitting 18 of their 19 attempts, with the only miss, ironically, coming from the team’s best free throw shooter in Anna Freeman. Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 23 points. Courtney Freeman finished with a monster double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Katie Mallow chipped in with 16 points. Anna Freeman was plagued with foul trouble and only played twenty-five minutes, but still managed 13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. The Mountaineers move to 7-1 on the season and will play at West Virginia on Friday evening.

C-Note: Anna Freeman scored her 1,500th point of her career and moved into fourth place on the all time scoring list. She is on pace to eclipse 2,000 points sometime in the SoCon tournament.

 

Women’s Basketball 79, Georgia Southern 47

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Pregame:

Appalachian will begin conference play on Monday night with a game against Georgia Southern, a team that has played Appalachian tough in the Darcie Vincent era. Appalachian won both games last year by double digits, but only averaged 60.5 points points per game in the series. Before last year’s wins, Appalachian dropped five of its previous six to the Eagles.

Georgia Southern is struggling this season with a 1-3 record, their lone win coming over RPI #333 Kent State. The Golden Flashes are 0-6 on the season. Georgia Southern opened their SoCon slate with a twelve point loss to Davidson, who was the media’s preseason favorite to win the conference. The Eagles turned the ball over 27 times in the loss. Unfortunately, the Georgia Southern link for statistics is not working, so we cannot provide a more in depth preview.

The Mountaineers win over Xavier helped them leap frog from 88th to 60th in the latest RPI rankings. Appalachian is the final team in the SoCon to start their conference slate. With that, Appalachian is stuck in the middle of the conference standings. As you can see, Chattanooga, Samford and Davidson are near the top as everyone expected. There have not been any major upsets this season.

SoCon Women’s Basketball SoCon Overall
Team Record   Home Away     Record Pct Home Away    
Chattanooga 2-0   2-0 0-0     6-1 .857 4-0 1-1    
Samford 1-0   1-0 0-0     4-2 .667 3-1 1-1    
Western Carolina 1-0   1-0 0-0     3-3 .500 2-2 1-1    
College of Charleston 1-0   0-0 1-0     3-4 .429 1-1 2-3    
Davidson 1-0   1-0 0-0     2-4 .333 1-0 0-3    
Appalachian State 1-0   1-0 0-0     6-1 .857 3-0 1-1    
Furman 0-1   0-0 0-1     3-3 .500 3-0 0-3    
Elon 0-1   0-1 0-0     2-3 .400 2-2 0-1    
UNCG 0-1   0-0 0-1     1-3 .250 0-1 0-2    
Georgia Southern 0-2   0-0 0-2     1-5 .167 1-2 0-3    
Wofford 0-2   0-0 0-2     4-3 .571 1-0 2-3    

Postgame:

Appalachian was challenged throughout the game with stingy defense and a Georgia Southern team who substituted relentlessly in the second half, doing whatever it could to slow down the Mountaineer attack. Appalachian scored fifty second half points to earn a blowout win over the Eagles, 79-47. Appalachian played some great defense of its own on Monday evening. Georgia Southern only made one of their twenty-one three points attempts and managed shooting only 31.6% for the game. No Eagle was able to manage double digit scoring. The Mountaineers forced 24 turnovers and allowed only four assists.

Appalachian was able to celebrate a career milestone for Courtney Freeman, who netted her 1,000th point on the free throw line in the second half. Freeman had only scored six points at halftime, but the Mountaineers made a point to get her the ball late in the game. Courtney hit six free throws in the second half and hit six of her ten attempts in the second frame to finish with exactly 1,000 points for her career. Freeman became the 22nd Mountaineer with 1,000 points, following classmate Anna Freeman who scored her 1,000th last season against Longwood. Courtney finished with 24 points and nine rebounds for the game. Maryah Sydnor chipped in 19 points on 8/12 shooting and added six rebounds. Anna Freeman was saddled with foul trouble and only played 28 minutes in the game but managed to score 14 points, grab six boards, assisted on four baskets and swatted three shots. Kelsey Sharkey added six points, eight rebounds, and four steals.

C-Notes: Anna Freeman wound up eight points short of her 1,500th point….Anna needs to average 24.2 points per game for the remainder of the regular season to hit 2,000 career points. Courtney Freeman was named Women’s Basketball Playeer of The Week by the SoCon….The same honor was bestowed on Jay Canty on the men’s side for his efforts against Missouri and Duquesne…Men’s Basketball opens SoCon play on Saturday at Western Carolina….The Women will enjoy a 15 day layoff for exams before travelling to ETSU on Dec 18th.