By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Senior guard Emily Carver caught fire in the second half, scoring 17 of her 27 points in third quarter on Nov. 27 vs. Gardner-Webb, leading the Mountaineers past the Bulldogs, 82-64, at the Holmes Convocation Center on Senior Night.
Not to take anything away from Carver’s performance, but it was the return of senior guard Eleyana Tafisi in a first quarter cameo performance that provided the spark for the Mountaineers. With the Bulldogs ahead by nine points and the seconds ticking down on the first quarter, the Mountaineers’ senior transfer from Utah Valley University threaded her way down the lane through traffic, drawing a foul and sinking two free throws to narrow the deficit.
Tafisi’s appearance helped stem the tide of 3-pointers that widened the Q1 lead for the Bulldogs, their starting guard Elle Blatchford making 2-of-3 from behind the arc and team scoring leader Ashley Hawkins adding 1-of-2 from long distance. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers shot a dismal 2-of-16 from the field in the first quarter, including going 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.
There is no question that Tafisi brought energy, and it continued into the second quarter as App State whittled the deficit down. Fittingly, it was Tafisi’s 3-pointer with 3:45 to go in the half that put the Mountaineers ahead for the first time since the opening seconds of the ball game.
After the game, App State head coach Alaura Sharp told reporters that she had considered playing Tafisi in the Nov. 24 game vs. Richmond, but ultimately decided against it. The senior guard’s official release date from the earlier injury was Dec. 1.
“When I told Eleyana that I was going to play her for a few minutes tonight, she was very excited,” said Sharp.
Those few minutes turned into 15 total minutes for the game. From a cause and effect standpoint, Tafisi was a difference maker, the team registering a +23 during her time on the court, a team-high. While she scored only seven of those points, personally, her energy lifted the performance of everyone around her, including Carver, who buried 4-of-7 attempts from behind the arc.
Although Hawkins sunk a couple of free throws to tie the game at halftime, 35-35, the Mountaineers had the spark they needed. Behind 10 points by Carver and a pair of layups from Asjah Inniss and Zada Porter, along with pressing defense that stifled any Bulldog response, App State jumped out to a 14-point lead in just the first three minutes of the third quarter — and they kept building on it, leading by as many as 18 points in Q3 and 23 points in Q4.
Starting guard J’Mani Ingram, who transferred to App State from Pearl River Community College for the 2023-24 season, recorded 14 points on the night, most from inside the paint. Porter, also one of the nine seniors on the Mountaineer roster, was the third Mountaineer in double figures, scoring 10 points, but had one of the most impressive stat lines of any player on the night with 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and one block in her 19 minutes on the floor. Included in those points: 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Rylan Moffitt, a transfer last year from Daytona State and the Mountaineers’ top rebounder in 2023-34, was in form again with a team-high 9 rebounds to go along with 6 points and 2 assists in her 24 minutes off the bench.
Now 3-3, the Mountaineers’ next challenge is Dec. 1 at Vanderbilt (7-1), with an impressive win in Palm Springs, Calif. vs. Arizona on Nov. 26, 71-60, before a loss the next day to Michigan State, 78-70, in the same Acrisure Classic tournament.
