JONESBORO, Ark. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (5-10, 2-4 SBC) suffered an 83-60 setback to first-place Arkansas State (11-4, 5-0 SBC) Saturday afternoon in the Convocation Center.
Mia Marshall grabbed her third double-double of the season scoring 10 points on a game-high 10 boards (seven offensive) while shooting 4-of-8 from the field.
Joi Jones turned in a team-high 12 points and
Madi Story rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points.
App State came out of the gate with a strong start getting off to an early 5-2 lead thanks to Jones scoring a layup and a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the first 2:18 of the contest.
After a 10-2 run over a 3:21 span from A-State that gave the hosts a 12-7 lead, the Mountaineers fought back to slice the deficit to a point, 12-11, following a jumper from
Jasmine Ogunjimi and a pair of free throws from Marshall. When it looked like momentum swung in Appalachian's favor, the Red Wolves would score nine of the next 11 points to go into the second period with a 21-13 lead.
App State trimmed the deficit to as close as seven, 24-17, thanks to another jumper from Ogunjimi with 8:06 left in the period. The Red Wolves showed why their undefeated in conference play going on a 17-4 run to go into the half with a 41-21 lead. Playing a pivotal part in the first half was 17 App State turnovers that turned into 21 of A-State's points.
Much like the contest on Thursday, the Apps played better in the second half, outscoring the Red Wolves, 23-17, in the third quarter while shooting 53.8 percent from the field. Trailing 47-25 with 7:46 left in the third quarter, Craven's trifecta spearheaded a 9-0 run that cut the deficit to 13, 47-34. Marshall and Jones scored on back-to-back layups before an offensive board grabbed by Marshall capped off the run.
Once Arkansas State went on a run, the Apps would fight back. The Arkansas State lead dwindled to 12, 54-42 with 2:02 left in the third quarter after a 6-2 spurt sparked by a layup from Jones. Appalachian stayed within striking distance to cut the lead to under double digits going into the fourth quarter, 58-44.
But the Red Wolves hit their stride once again in the final period reaching a 20-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. Appalachian trimmed the lead to as low as 16, 69-53, but Arkansas State stayed on top of the Mountaineers en route to the victory to stay undefeated.
Compared to the first half, the Apps had just 10 turnovers (17 in the first half) while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor (29.0 percent in the first half). Appalachian also won the battle on the boards outrebounding A-State, 37-35, and scoring 17 second-chance points off 16 offensive boards.
The Mountaineers recorded 13 steals and the App State bench outscored the A-State reserves, 22-13, including seven points from Craven and six from Ogunjimi. Ogunjimi gave the Mountaineers 17 solid minutes shooting 3-for-6 from the field.
App State will return home next week for a game against Georgia State on Thursday and a showdown against rival Georgia Southern on Saturday.
