By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After a first quarter in which UNC-Greensboro jumped out to an 8-0 lead and Appalachian State couldn’t seem to buy a basket — but kept things close with strong defense and good shooting at the free throw line — the Mountaineers “settled in” and fought back to take a season-opening win, 71-65, in front of almost 700 basketball fans at the Holmes Convocation Center.
App State won the night in characteristic Mountaineer style, with offensive attacks coming from all directions and the points scored spread among multiple players. Led by senior Faith Alston’s 15 points, four Mountaineers scored in double figures, including J’Mani Ingram (13 points), Rylan Moffitt (12), and Emily Carver (11).
The Mountaineers were also active on collecting errant shots by both teams, clearing the glass for a total of 50 rebounds vs. just 35 for the visiting Spartans. Noteworthy: App State limited UNCG to just three offensive rebounds in the second half with a focus on controlling possession. COVID senior Taylor Lewis, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, and Carver, a junior from Asheville, both reached double figures in rebounding with 10 apiece. Impressively, Carver collected eight of her boards off the offensive glass to keep Mountaineer offensive opportunities alive.
While the offensive scoring was fairly even both in the paint and from the perimeter, a difference maker for this game was App State being successful on 21-of-31 free throw opportunities. The Spartans were flagged 25 times for personal fouls, oftentimes with a Mountaineer driving to the basket in the act of shooting. By comparison, App State drew 17 whistles for fouls, the Spartans making good on just 8-of-13 attempts from the charity stripe.
After the game, head coach Angel Elderkin was obviously pleased with the result, even after the slow start.
“As you noted, we couldn’t buy a basket in the first quarter, shooting 1-for-14 in the opening period, but I think that just comes from settling in. We had only two starters out there from last year, so we had different players in different roles. They didn’t get discouraged by the ball not going in the basket, but we continued to fight,” said Elderkin.
“Another thing that I’m super proud of is just our rebounding,” added Elderkin. “Anybody who’s watched our program in the last year knows that (rebounding) has been something that has been really hurting us. UNCG came in as one of the top-40 offensive rebounding teams in the country and they returned all those players. We held them in the second half without an offensive rebound and that’s just a testament to the fight and the toughness of our team. We’re not the biggest team, but we’ve got a lot of grit and we’ve got a lot of scrap to us. It feels good just to get one game under our belt, together.”
App State will try to keep the good times rolling on Saturday, Nov. 11, when they host Ohio at the Holmes Center in a 2 p.m. tilt on Youth Day. The game is the first of two MAC/Sun Belt Challenge games. The second MAC/SBC Challenge game is scheduled for Feb. 10, opponent to be determined.
