By Katherine Jamtgaard. HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The App State women’s basketball team defeated Southern Miss, 76-56, in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Jan. 4. The win marked the Mountaineers’ first victory over Southern Miss in program history, only having met the Lady Eagles three times in this millennium.
App State rises to 3-0 in Sun Belt play as well as 7-6 on the season. This is the Mountaineers’ first ever 3-0 start in Sun Belt play and first 3-0 start in conference games since 2011-12, when the team competed in the Southern Conference (SoCon).
“We are really proud of our team for completing the road sweep,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “We challenged our team to win this game with their defense and they did just that. Our second half defense was really composed and we attacked the glass hard. We are really showing our growth as a unit.”
A quartet of Mountaineers netted double-figures, led by junior Elena Pericic and senior J’Mani Ingram, each scoring 17 points. Pericic knocked down five-of-six from beyond the arc, accounting for all but two of App State’s treys, and grabbed six rebounds. Ingram drained 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe in addition to pulling down seven rebounds. Junior Rylan Moffitt netted 12 points while senior Emily Carver scored 10 points.
App State’s top rebounder for a second consecutive game —and fourth game this season — was senior Zada Porter, who grabbed eight rebounds. Fellow senior Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team high nine assists, coming within one of her career high of 10, originally set on March 7, 2024.
App State recorded 38 points by its reserves while holding Southern Miss to nine bench points. The Mountaineers also netted 17 second chance points compared to Southern Miss’ 11. App State limited Southern Miss to eight offensive rebounds and four fastbreak points. Over the course of play, App State and Southern Miss knotted the score on five occasions, swapping the lead six times.
Tafisi put the Mountaineers on the board with a fastbreak layup in the paint, which Porter followed up with a layup of her own. Pericic drilled her first trey of the game to extend App State’s lead to 7-2. The Mountaineers and Lady Eagles knotted the score thrice before Southern Miss broke an 11 all tie to take a 14-11 lead. Despite a jumper from Pericic, Southern Miss closed the first period ahead, 17-13. Pericic and Tafisi had combined for 11 of App State’s 13 points in the first quarter.
Pericic opened the second quarter with a 3-point bucket to bring the Mountaineers within one (17-16), but the Lady Eagles answered with a trey of their own. A layup from Moffitt and another Pericic 3-pointer kept the Mountaineers within one of Southern Miss’ lead (22-21). Midway through the quarter, App State faced a scoring drought as Southern Miss extended the deficit to 27-21. Carver knocked down a trey for the Black and Gold and, coming off the bench, Ingram went to work accumulating eight points in four minutes, knocking down 4-of-4 from the field. App State entered halftime with a 33-32 edge over the Lady Eagles. The Mountaineers shot 60% from the arc and 53.3% from the field in the second quarter.
Southern Miss edged ahead, 34-33, after opening the third quarter with a jumper. The Mountaineers answered with a 9-0 run that featured treys from Carver and Pericic as well as a tip-in basket from Ingram. The trio combined for 18 of App State’s 29 points in the period. Ingram extended the lead to 46-35 after sinking a pair of freebies and making a layup in the paint. With layups from Tafisi and Moffitt, App State reached a 50-37 lead. Jumpers from Moffitt and senior Asjah Inniss, a Pericic trey, a Carver layup, and a pair of Inniss freebies brought the Mountaineers to a 61-42 lead. Senior Samantha LaFon contributed a free throw as the Mountaineers took a 62-46 lead at the end of the quarter.
Ingram opened the fourth quarter with a freebie, which she followed with a jumper. Moffitt netted six points for the Mountaineers over 1:38, draining a pair of jumpers and making a tip-in basket. With a LaFon layup, Carver free throw, and Inniss jumper, App State took its biggest lead of the game, 76-51. Despite a Southern Miss trey and pair of free throws, the Mountaineers took the win, 76-56, notching their fourth consecutive victory since Dec. 21.
Up Next
The Mountaineers return to Boone to host Troy at noon on Jan. 9 for their Education Day game. Admission for all fans is free for Thursday’s game.
On Jan. 11, App State hosts Coastal Carolina at 3:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men’s basketball program. The men’s team will play James Madison at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come early for the men’s game and stay late for the women’s game, as one ticket will get fans into both games. The doubleheader will also be the Mountaineers’ “stripe out,” in which fans are encouraged to wear either black or gold depending on the section their seats are in.
