BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State handed Georgia Southern women's basketball its third loss in a row with an 82-74 victory on Saturday afternoon in Boone, N.C.
The Mountaineers (10-8, 4-3 SBC) earned a split in the season series with the Eagles (13-6, 3-4 SBC) after Georgia Southern picked up an 83-77 win in Statesboro on January 11.
A tight first quarter saw Simone James beat the buzzer with a layup to put the Eagles up by two, 20-18. But the Mountaineers shot 50% from the floor in the second quarter and also hit 7-of-8 free throws to take a 10-point lead at the break, 46-36.
App State extended its lead to 16 points, 56-40, with 3:43 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles closed the quarter on a 13-3 run to make the score 59-53 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were able to cut the lead to five on a few occasions in the fourth quarter, the latest coming after a Kayla Thomas layup with 51 seconds left, but App State went 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the final 41 seconds to clinch the win.
Terren Ward led five Eagles in double figures on the day with 14 points. Three other Eagles tallied 11 points - Constance Thomas, Zaria Johnson and Torrion Starks, while Ja'nya Love-Hill chipped in 10 points and four steals. Faith Alston had 24 points and J'Mani Ingram added 23 points to lead the Mountaineers.
Eagle of the Game
Zaria Johnson played a season-high 18 minutes in notching her fourth double-digit game of the season. She hit 5-of-9 shots from the floor, including a three, and added three rebounds - two offensive.
Stat of the Game
App State held a distinct advantage at the free throw line, going 23-of-30 from the charity stripe, while Georgia Southern went 4-of-7 from the line.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the loss to the Dukes
"Effort. We talk about Vitamin E - effort, energy and efficiency and we didn't show any of that today. I'm really disappointed in how we came out coming off of two losses in a row, I expected us to fight a little harder on the road and I don't think we did that. I don't want to have to coach effort. We were missing that, App State outworked us today."
Next Up
The Eagles return home on Wednesday, hosting Georgia State in a 6 p.m. Sun Belt Conference contest at Hanner Fieldhouse.
