By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State women’s basketball team fell short to Marshall, 76-58, on Wednesday.
“I thought Marshall had a great game plan. I thought that we lost the momentum at the end of the first quarter and were plagued with a little bit of foul trouble in that second quarter with senior Eleyana Tafisi on the bench. I thought we just really struggled. Our team just feels a little bit out of sync and out of rhythm right now,” said head coach Alaura Sharp.
“We’ve got to find a way to get together as a group and figure out what do we want out of these last few games,” added Sharp, “because I think that it’s a slippery slope. We have a lot of seniors. I think the end is starting to come. They are feeling a little pressure and it’s just gotten us away from being us. Obviously, as a staff, we’ve got to evaluate and see how we can hit our rhythm. I still believe in our group. I know we can do it. We’ve got a great opportunity to bounce back on Saturday and just try to really work to be us, where we’re playing with joy and we’re playing with energy.”
Senior Zada Porter led the Mountaineers for an eighth game this season, netting 15 points. She drained 7-of-8 from the field on Wednesday and has scored double-figures in 15 games during the 2024-25 campaign. Additionally, Porter dished out a team-high four assists. Junior Rylan Moffitt scored 10 points for the Mountaineers and made a pair of blocks. App State’s top rebounder was senior Emily Carver, who grabbed eight. The Mountaineers netted 20 points off the bench and made four blocks compared to Marshall’s one.
The Mountaineers opened play with a 7-0 run as junior Elena Pericic drained a pair of freebies, Porter made a tip-in, and junior Emily Hege drilled the first 3-point bucket of the game. Layups from Porter and Moffitt kept the Mountaineers ahead, 13-9. Carver contributed a trey, extending App State’s lead to 16-9. Marshall found momentum with a 10-0 run and closed the period with a 19-18 edge, despite a layup from Pericic, who was assisted by Porter. Porter, Pericic, and Moffitt combined for 12 of App State’s points, contributing four apiece.
The Thundering Herd, which controlled the lead for the remainder of play, extended its lead with a 14-0 run as the Mountaineers faced a scoring drought. The Black and Gold’s drought was broken by a freebie from freshman Hekla Nökkvadóttir. Moffitt netted four of App State’s seven points and made both of her blocks during the second period.
Early in the third quarter, Pericic made a layup, Porter landed a jumper, and Tafisi made a fastbreak layup to chip into Marshall’s lead (46-31). Carver, who combined with Porter for nine of App State’s points in the period, made a pair of layups for the Mountaineers. She also grabbed four of her eight rebounds in the quarter. Despite a Hege trey and a three-point play from Porter, Marshall closed the quarter with a 62-41 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Porter made a layup to chip into Marshall’s lead. The Mountaineers found momentum with a 10-0 run that featured jumpers from Moffitt and Hege, a pair of freebies from Neira, and layups from Neira and Porter. The Herd answered with a run of its own to extend the deficit to 74-53. With 1:28 left in the period, senior Asjah Inniss drained the Mountaineers’ sole trey of the quarter. Despite a final jumper from junior Seneya Martinez and App State outscoring Marshall, 17-14 in the quarter, the Mountaineers fell short 76-58.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will close their 2024-25 home slate with a 3:30 p.m. Alumni Day clash against James Madison on Saturday. The game against the Dukes is part of a doubleheader with the men’s program, which will host Marshall at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come early for the men’s game and stay late for the women’s game. One ticket will get fans into both games and fans can claim BOGO tickets when they use the promo code MOUNTAINSTRONG. App State faculty and staff will receive free admission when they show their App Cards.
