BOONE, N.C. -  If Appalachian State University women's basketball (11-17, 6-11 SBC) wants to be playing its best basketball going into the Sun Belt Tournament, Saturday was an excellent way to start, as the Mountaineers downed UL Monroe (5-21, 2-14 SBC) on Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center, 79-61. 

Ashley Bassett-Smith played a great game inside tying her career high with 19 points on a very efficient 8-for-10 performance from the field to go along with seven boards. Making her first-career start as a freshman, Armani Hampton shined in her debut and didn't disappoint. The forward fired in a career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and tied a career mark with six off the glass. Hampton got her confidence going early in the game hitting her first five shots. 

Joi Jones  added 15 to the mix with a season-high six assists and just two turnovers in 34 minutes. Like her usual self, Jones notched eight points in the fourth quarter and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

It wasn't just the three Mountaineers in double figures that contributed in the scoring column, as all eight student-athletes who got into the game scored. App assisted on 72 percent of its field goals (18-of-25)  with four student-athletes recording multiple assists. With the 79 points, improved to 8-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points. Madi Story brought down a game-high 11 boards and scored nine points. In her first-career start, Katelyn Doub chipped in with seven points in 20 minutes. 

ULM's first and only lead came in the early moments of the game with a 4-0 lead. But after starting 0-for-5 from the floor, Appalachian went seven for its next 11 to end the quarter outscoring the visitors, 18-5, and go into the second period with an 11-point advantage.  App held the opponents to 26.7 percent shooting from the field, while the Black and Gold assisted on six of the seven-made field goals. 

Appalachian kept its foot on the pedal going up by as much as 19 points in the frame, 40-21, thanks to a pair of free throws by Story. The Mountaineers held ULM to just under 33 percent shooting from the floor during the half, and App converted at the free throw line hitting 13-of-18 attempts.  

Coming out of the game, Hampton continued her big day with back-to-back buckets to push the App lead to 22, 46-24, for its largest lead of the contest. The Mountaineers kept the Warhawks at bay until ULM trimmed the App State lead to 12 at the end of the period, 55-43. 

ULM would get to within 10 points on three separate occasions in the final quarter, putting a little pressure on App.  With App leading 66-56, Cydni Cole made a splash in her first appearance since 12/31 at Texas State from a lower body injury, hitting a 3-pointer to bury the Warhawks for good.  

App cruised the rest of the way en route to surpassing last season's win total. The Mountaineers dominated the boards, 49-24, including a 20-6 edge on the offensive glass that led to a whopping 29-0 output in second-chance points.  App would rebound 57.1 percent of its missed shots on the day, while the Black and Gold shot 51.1 percent (22-43) inside the arc. 

Also, App outscored ULM, 26-10, making a season high in free throws. The Mountaineers shot 78.8 percent from the line, which is the highest percentage this season when attempting at least 20 free throws. 

Quotable:
“Our team is at our best when we're able to get contributions from everyone. We are really proud of our commitment and effort on the boards. I loved our response to the adversity we faced today, and I am looking forward to March with this team. “ - Head Coach Angel Elderkin

Tip-Ins
- Bassett-Smith and Hampton were a combined 14-for-17 from the field with 33 points and 13 rebounds.

- All eight players were on the plus side in the plus/minus column. 

- Amber Driver  held a career-high and tied a team-high with a plus-32 in 25 minutes, chipping in with six point and three boards.

- App is 5-0 all-time against ULM, while all three wins at home have been by double digits. 

- The Mountaineers are 10-3 this season when scoring at least 30 points in the paint.

- App attempted at least 30 free throws for the seventh time this season.

- Jones dished out at least four assists for the sixth-straight game. With 27 assists and just eight turnovers, Jones has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.3:1.

- Story recorded double-digit rebounds for the sixth time this season and the third time in the past four games.

- Bayley Plummer (East Davidson/Thomasville, N.C.) is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game over the last two contests after grabbing eight boards, her best two-game stretch this season.