BOONE, N.C. - A spot for the eighth seed at the 2016 Sun Belt Championshps could be on the line when Appalachian State University women's basketball (9-17, 6-11 SBC) takes on Georgia State (10-16, 5-12 SBC) at 12 p.m on Saturday in GSU Sports Arena on ESPN3.
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@AppStateWBB at @GeorgiaStateWBB | February 27th |12 p.m. | GSU Sports Arena | Atlanta
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About the Mountaineers
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers made big plays down the stretch to pull out a pivotal 68-62 road victory over archrival Georgia Southern. Appalachian went 6-for-8 over the final 6:27 of the game while Joi Jones had a hand in 16 of the final 18 points for App State. The Mountaineers also drained a season-high 9 3-pointers.
Race for Eighth
Saturday's game is crucial in the race for the final spot in the conference tournament. With Georgia State behind a full game against App State, the Panthers will need to win to take the tiebreaker. If App State picks up the win, they'll be two games in front of GSU, which will put pressure on the Panthers needing to win their last two games to have a chance.
An App State Win Would
• Give App State its 10th win of the season improving to 10-17 and 7-11 in Sun Belt play.
• Give the Mountaineers their first road sweep of the season in conference play.
• Get one step closer to clinching a trip to the Sun Belt tournament.
• End the season at 4-9 on the road.
• Drop Georgia State to 10-17 overall and 5-13 in conference play.
• Give the Panthers their 10th loss at home.
• Snap a three-game slide to the Panthers.
Who's Hot
•Jones and Madi Story has taken on the scoring load for the Mountaineers, as the duo is scoring 29.4 ppg combined over the last five games despite the losing streak, equaling 42.6 percent of the team's output.
• Jones is averaging 16.4 ppg over the previous five contests while grabbing six boards, dishing out 3.6 assists, shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.
• Ashley Bassett-Smith has made some big contributions off the bench, where she is shooting 51.4 percent from the field while averaging 6.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Against Georgia Southern, she scored eight points and grabbed four off the glass.
• Bria Carter has been the all-around performer for Appalachian over the past five games, where she's putting in 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while turning 2.4 steals per game as well.
• The junior forward had perhaps her best performance of the season against Georgia Southern where she corralled a season-high 12 boards, scored nine points and dished out five assists.
Five Things to Watch at Georgia State
• Carter scored a career-high 17 points while grabbing five boards in the first meeting against GSU. The junior guard has been playing well of late. See if the junior forward can have the same type of performance against the Panthers.
• The Mountaineers are 3-0 this season when assisting on at least 60 percent of their field goals. Watch if Appalachian can keep the ball moving on offense.
• App State's bench has dominated the opponent's reserves over the last two games, outscoringthe opposition by a score of 45-14. Anticipate on the reserves to have another solid outing.
• Appalachian forced 19 turnovers and turned the GSU miscues into 26 points. The Panthers have given up 22 points off turnovers over the past five losses and 23.3 points overall. Watch if the Apps can put pressure on a mistake-prone Georgia State squad.
• App State is 6-2 this season when holding a double-digit lead at any point in a game this season with one of those setbacks coming against the Panthers. Watch if the Apps can get off to an early start and take advantage if they get to a lead above 10 points.
Scouting Georgia State (10-16, 5-12 SBC)
• Georgia State has lost five of its last six games and snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday with a last-second win over in-state rival Georgia Southern, 61-60.
• The Panthers are a game back of App State for the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt tournament. If GSU wins, the Panthers would hold the tiebreaker.
• GSU is 4-9 at home this season while dropping five out its last six contests on its home floor.
• The Panthers are led by Makeba Ponder and Astaja Tyghter, who combine to score 20.8 ppg. Ponder leads the team in scoring at an 11.5 clip with Tyghter averaging 9.3 ppg. Tyghter scored 21 points and hit the game-winning shot against GASO on Tuesday.
• Alaysia Mitchell corralls a team-high 5.5 rpg while Madison Newby dished a team-best 5.2 apg, which leads the Sun Belt.
• The Panthers rank as one of the top offensive rebounding teams averaging 14.6 rpg on the offensive end.
• Georgia State is fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring pouring in 63.9 ppg. However, the Panthers give up the eighth most points at 71.1 ppg
Up Next: Little Rock
App State will conclude the regular season next week with its final homestand. The Mountaineers will start with the second-best team in the conference in the Trojans on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
