BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (8-16, 5-10 SBC) couldn't get the offense going in a 68-54 defeat to South Alabama (13-12, 9-7 SBC) Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.
KeKe Cooper led the team with a solid performance for her fifth double-double of the season scoring 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and pulling down a game-best 11 boards. Cooper also tied a career-high with four steals on the night.
Madi Story scored 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting and a 5-for-8 performance from the free throw line.
Joi Jones rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points on five buckets while corralling six boards and dishing out a team-best four assists.
South Alabama showed why it was one of the top defenses in the Sun Belt limiting the Mountaineers to just 35.1 percent shooting, just 54 points and never allowing the Apps to score more than 20 in any quarter. USA would sport a 45.5 shooting clip while three student-athletes scored in double figures.
Cooper's first jumper of the game gave Appalachian its only lead of the contest, 2-0, with 8:50 to go in the first quarter. The Mountaineers hit three of their first four shots after another bucket from Cooper tied the contest, 6-all. After USA scored four quick points to take a 10-6 lead, a layup from
Bria Carter and Cooper's third jumper of the period tied the contest, 10-10.
USA ended the first period hitting six-straight shots en route to a 10-1 run and taking a 20-11 lead going into the second frame. App State went cold from the field going just 2-for-11 over the final 6:07, allowing the visitors to push the lead to nine.
The Jaguars stayed on top of the Mountaineers through the second quarter, eventually going into halftime with a 36-22 advantage. Appalachian sliced the deficit to as low as seven, 26-19, thanks to a pair of free throws from Carter, but the Jaguars wouldn't let the hosts get any closer before the break.
After starting the game 3-for-4, the Apps went 5-for-23 from the field over the final 16:07 of the first half while USA went 14-for-27 from the floor.
App State tried to get it going in the third quarter, slicing the lead to eight, 42-34, with 5:35 left in the third period.
Ashley Bassett-Smith hit one of her three field goals before Jones hit a bucket. Cooper would follow that up with five-straight points, including an and-1 to cap off the spurt.
USA answered App State with three-straight 3-pointers to push the lead to 14, 51-37, and never led by less than 10 points the rest of the contest. Appalachian couldn't muster up the offensive rhythm we've seen glimpses of this season while the Jaguars captured the season series with the win.
App State turned the ball over just 15 times while forcing USA to commit 21 mistakes into 23 points off the turnovers. The Mountaineers also held a 14-11 advantage in second chance points, but the visitors outrebounded App State, 40-29.
Another key to the setback for the Apps was the Jaguars going 9-for-14 from beyond arc, including five treys from from Marquita Daniels, who scored a game-high 19 points. App State hit just one trifecta, giving USA a 27-3 favor from long distance.
The Mountaineers will play Troy on Saturday in the Play4Kay contest at 1 p.m. in the Holmes Center. Appalachian scored a season-high 96 points against Troy on the road in a 15-point victory earlier this season.
