App State women’s basketball traveled to Pensacola, Florida Tuesday to play in the Sun Belt Tournament. The Mountaineers were the 13th seed in the tournament and lost in the first round 68-57.

The opening game was against the University of South Alabama Jaguars. It took a couple minutes, but senior guard Emma Smith scored a mid-range jumper to open the scoring.

Senior forward Elena Pericic knocked down the first 3-pointer of the game to give the Black and Gold a 5-2 lead. The Jaguars tied the game at 7 with their first shot from deep and took the lead with a layup.

Smith connected on a 3-pointer to regain the lead for the Mountaineers, but the Jaguars responded quickly to go up 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Junior guard Daisia Mitchell got the Mountaineers’ scoring started in the second quarter with a layup and a free throw.

Both teams went back and forth throughout the second quarter, with graduate student guard Jada Burton drilling a 3-pointer to give App State a 23-21 lead. South Alabama went on a roll to end the half, and took a 36-31 advantage into the locker room.

Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Mountaineers their first field goal of the third quarter. South Alabama scored to extend its lead, but the Black and Gold responded, going on a 5-0 run to cut the Jaguar’s lead to 1.

Burton gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the second half, converting a 3-point play. The game remained tight all the way through the end of the quarter, and App State held onto its 1-point lead going into the final 10 minutes.

South Alabama grabbed the first 4 points of the fourth quarter, leading to an App State timeout. The Jaguars continued their run, and another timeout was called. When the damage was done, the Black and Gold found themselves down 13.

The Jaguars finished the fourth quarter with an 18-6 advantage, running away with it down the stretch.

App State finished the season at 11-19 overall and 4-14 in conference play. Smith led the team in points, rebounds and assists.