By Katherine Jamtgaard. JONESBORO, Ark. — The App State women’s basketball team rounded out the regular season with a 64-57 victory over Arkansas State on Friday. The Mountaineers went 16-14 this season and 9-9 in conference play, earning the No. 9 seed in the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship.
Senior Faith Alston led the Mountaineers with 21 points, recording her 19th game as the Mountaineers’ top scorer and 27th game scoring double-figures this season. Alston also dished out a team-high four assists and recorded three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Alexis Black recorded 15 points and combined with junior Emily Carver, who netted 13 points, for four of the Mountaineers’ six treys. Sophomore Rylan Moffitt tallied her 18th game as App State’s top rebounder, pulling down 10.
Faith Alston recorded her 19th game as the Mountaineers’ top scorer and 27th game scoring in double figures this season.
The Mountaineers shot 83.3% from the line and held Arkansas State to two treys on the night. App State also limited the Red Wolves to two fastbreak points, while netting 11 off fastbreaks. The Mountaineers also caused 23 Arkansas State turnovers. The Black and Gold and Red Wolves tied the score eight times and swapped the lead seven times over the course of play.
In the first quarter, the Mountaineers and Red Wolves traded the lead four times and tied five times. Alston accounted for eight of the Black and Gold’s 13 points in the quarter and both teams went on five-point scoring runs midway through the period. Arkansas State managed to pull ahead to close the quarter 17-13.
App State held Arkansas State to nine points in the second quarter, opening the period with a layup from Carver. The Mountaineers went on a 14-4 run, with contributions from Alston, Black, sophomore Chaé Harris, and graduate student Mariah Frazier, to take the lead. Moffitt landed a late jumper despite Arkansas State’s efforts to catch up with the Mountaineers. App State ended the half with a 29-26 edge over the Red Wolves. Over the course of the period, App State caused eight Arkansas State turnovers compared to the Mountaineers’ two.
The Mountaineers took a 44-43 edge at the close of the third quarter, despite tying and trading the lead twice. Carver knocked down both of the Mountaineers’ treys in the period, while fifth year senior Taylor Lewis drained a pair of freebies to give the Mountaineers the edge going into the fourth period.
App State outscored Arkansas State 20-14 in the final period, as Black, Carver, and Alston each contributed five points apiece. The Mountaineers went on a 9-0 scoring run right away, as Lewis drained a 3-point bucket to start the quarter. Carver completed a three-point play, which Black followed up with a trey of her own. Shortly after, Alston knocked down a trey to bring App State to an 11-point lead (56-45). As Arkansas State chipped away at the Mountaineers’ lead, Alston, Carver, and Black combined for six free throws to secure the win, 64-55.
UP NEXT
The Sun Belt Conference announced the seeding and matchups for the 2024 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship after the Mountaineers’ nightcap in Jonesboro. App State will enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed and will open tournament play against No. 8 seeded Georgia State on March 6 at 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 a.m. ET).
The SBC Women’s Basketball Championship is slated for March 5-11 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. All 14 teams will make an appearance and all games leading up to the championship game will be available to stream on ESPN+. The championship game on March 11 will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
Full Championship Schedule
Tuesday, March 5
Game 1 – (12) Georgia Southern vs. (13 ) Texas State– 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 2 – (11) Coastal Carolina vs. (14) South Alabama– 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Wednesday, March 6
Game 3 – (8) Georgia State vs. (9) App State– 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 4 – (5) ULM vs. Winner Game 1 – 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Game 5 – (6) Southern Miss vs. Winner Game 2 – 5:00 p.m. CT (6:00 p.m. ET)
Game 6 – (7) Louisiana vs. (10) Arkansas State – 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)
Friday, March 8
Game 7 – (1) Marshall vs. Winner Game 3 – 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 8 – (4) Old Dominion vs. Winner Game 4 – 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Game 9 – (3) James Madison vs. Winner Game 5 – 5:00 p.m. CT (6:00 p.m. ET)
Game 10 – (2) Troy vs. Winner Game 6 – 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, March 10
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Monday, March 11: Championship Match
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 1:00 p.m. CT (2:00 p.m. ET)
