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Moffitt comes off bench to score 15 and lead Mountaineers past Coastal Carolina, 63-60

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After leading by as many as 12 points with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, App State women’s basketball turned back a fierce Coastal Carolina rally to win a thrilling nailbiter, 63-60.

After losing to Troy on Jan. 9, App State needed to get back on track in taking early command of the Sun Belt Conference standings. The win puts them in 5-way tie for second place, at 4-1 in league play, with Old Dominion, Troy, Louisiana and Arkansas State. The only remaining undefeated team is James Madison, at 5-0. The Mountaineers are 8-7 overall.

Rylan Moffitt (15) came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points and lead App State past Coastal Carolina, 63-60, on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics

Forward Rylan Moffitt helped the Mountaineers to a 13-point lead with 5-for-5 shooting in the second quarter, finishing the game 7-of-7 and a team-high 15 points. The 6-0 junior forward is in her second year playing for the Mountaineers, after transferring from Daytona State following her freshman campaign. After starting 31 of 32 games during 2023-24, this year she is coming off the bench as one of the Mountaineers’ top reserves. She is making the most of it, second on the team in rebounding only to starter Elena Pericic and still No. 5 on the team in scoring.

In the game’s critical moments at the end, it was senior point guard Eleyana Tafisi who provided a key play, drawing an offensive foul with just 12 seconds to play. Even still, Coastal Carolina couldn’t capitalize, the Chanticleers’ senior forward Jaylen Ponder unable to convert two free throws in the final seconds that likely would have tied the game at 62 and sent it into overtime. As it was, the Mountaineers’ Pericic was fouled after collecting the last free throw rebound and was fouled, upon which she made one of her final two shots from the charity stripe with six seconds remaining.

Rylan Moffitt scored a team-high 15 points in coming off the bench to lead App State past Coastal Carolina on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics

The Chanticleers brought the ball up quickly on the inbound, desperate for a 3-pointer that would send the game into OT. But a strong defensive effort by the Mountaineers at midcourt produced a wild, even late attempt, icing the game for App State.

The win was doubly pleasant for Mountaineer basketball fans, who earlier had watched the men’s team dethrone the Dukes of James Madison, 86-66.

Up next, App State has a 2-game road swing, first in Norfolk, Va. facing Old Dominion on Jan. 15 (6:30 p.m.) and then on Jan. 18 at Marshall (Huntington, W.V.), with tipoff slated for 1 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN+.

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