STATESBORO, Ga. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (8-10, 3-4 SBC) suffered a heartbreaking 53-50 loss to Georgia Southern (7-11, 3-4 SBC) on Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Madi Story recorded her first double-double of the season and the third of her career with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Amber Driver hit three 3-pointers for nine points, while Joi Jones rounded out the leading scorers with eight points and snagging five boards.
The Apps and Eagles were tied at 48-all with 54 seconds when Jones hit a jumper from the key to give App a 50-48 lead. However, GS scored the final five points for the victory. App had a chance to tie the game trailing by three, but the shot fell short.
App State got off to a strong start out of the gate taking a 17-9 lead after the first quarter, holding Georgia Southern to 28.6 percent shooting from the floor and scoring eight points off its miscues. Story caught fire hitting a pair of 3-pointers en route to eight points to lead App.
With App holding a 10-7 lead, the Black and Gold used a 7-2 run to end the frame and a take the eight-point lead. Bria Carter sparked the run with a layup before Story scored five straight points to cap off the spurt.
With the Apps looking to pull away early, the second quarter ended up being the difference maker, as App was outscored by 11 points by Georgia Southern while being limited to just one field goal and a free throw. GS would take a 23-20 edge in what became a low-scoring affair in the first half.
Georgia Southern started the second half fast with a 9-2 run in the first 3:33 of the third quarter to take a 10-point lead, 32-22. Appalachian responded with a big 13-0 run of its own, thanks in large part to Story and Q. Murray. Story had a hand in 10 of the 13 points (8 points, one assist) including an 8-0 run herself before finding Murray for a 3-pointer. Murray closed the frame with a circus shot that led to a foul and converted the 3-point play at the line. Appalachian forced GS into a 6:40 scoring drought that stretched into the first 13 seconds of the final frame.
After Angel McGowan hit a trey of her own to put the hosts ahead, 38-37, midway through the final period, the Apps pieced together a 9-0 run started by a free throw from Ashley Bassett-Smith before the next eight points were provided by the bench. Bayley Plummer converted a put back off an offensive rebound to break a 38-38 tie followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Driver that gave the Apps a 46-38 lead with 5:53 left and the momentum.
However, the Apps struggled from the floor missing eight of their last 10 shots since taking the eight-point lead. Georgia Southern finished the game 5-for-8 including going 3-of-3 in the final minutes for the win.
App held a dominating 48-30 advantage on the glass, including 22 offensive rebounds, but scored just nine second chance points off the extra opportunities. Appalachian also shot just 30.4 percent from the floor and was outscored 22-14 in the paint.
McGowan scored a game-high 19 points while Patrice Butler scored 16. The duo shot 14-of-29 combined to go along with 10 boards and committed just four turnovers. Nakol Franks scored 10 off the bench, three of which was the go-ahead trey for the Eagles in the waning minutes of the game.
Appalachian will return to action on Thursday at the Holmes Center against Texas State at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
