Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – Graduate student Brooke Bigott and redshirt-senior Janay Sanders led the charge against local Division II opponent Lees-McRae on Monday as App State defended Holmes Center, 67-33, against the Bobcats.
Bigott scored 13 of the Mountaineers’ points, while Sanders posted 12. The pair also earned eight rebounds apiece. Twenty-seven of the Black and Gold’s points were made off fast breaks and 24 points came from the bench.
“Today was a great opportunity to be back home in front of our fan base and open up our season against Lees-McRae,” said head coach Angel Elderkin. “They had a really good game on Saturday, we were actually very concerned with them coming in. They took a nationally ranked Division II team down to the wire. They came in today and I thought our defense set the tone early.
“We’re still a work in progress in terms of some areas figuring out lineup so I thought tonight just gave us some good opportunity to play different lineups, get some minutes in the Holmes Center under our belt and obviously come out with a win.”
After surging out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter, the Mountaineers steadily extended their lead with a pair of Emily Carver 3-pointers in the second to lead 21-8. Carver totaled nine points on the night as well as two steals.
Bigott and freshman Chaé Harris helped the Mountaineers go on a 9-0 run in the third quarter, putting App State up 46-17. Harris notched eight points and six rebounds. A layup from sophomore Zada Porter put the Black and Gold up 50-20 to close out the third quarter.
Harris, sophomore Mariah Frazier, and junior Dane Bertolina led the Mountaineers in the fourth quarter, combining for 15 of the Mountaineers’ 17 points in the quarter. Freshman Lexi Grant made it to the hoop with 26 seconds left for her first collegiate layup.
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App State will host Norfolk State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Four tickets to the Rock Garden at Saturday’s football game against Old Dominion will be up for grabs as well.
