The three-point line isn’t the only place where App State basketball’s Emily Carver helps bring success to her team.
Carver was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina where she attended Enka High School.
At Enka, she scored over 2,000 points and cemented herself as the school’s all-time leading scorer. In Carver’s junior year, she averaged 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Carver’s shooting ability has given her a name in the NCAA, and there are a few NBA All-Stars who Carver models her game after.
One in particular and Carver’s favorite player growing up, was NBA All-Star Stephen Curry, and it is reflected in her game. In starting 12 games her freshman year, she led the team in three-pointers made, sinking 46 on 32% shooting.
“Her evolution has been incredible just to not be put in a box, that’s number one,” said Angel Elderkin, App State women’s basketball head coach. “But number two, she’s the type of kid that if you tell her to do something, she does it. She’s a coach’s kid and she is very respectful. She’s great in the locker room; she’s great with her teammates.”
In her sophomore campaign, Carver led the Sun Belt in three-pointers per game for the season and conference play, while leading the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage in league-only play at 44%.
Carver believes in the idea of “looking good and playing good” in her pregame ritual, meaning you can’t perform well unless you look good. Considering all of Carver’s achievements, this ritual has served her well throughout her career.
Along with Curry, Carver looks up to her parents Brian and Darlene who molded her into the player and person she is today.
“Both of my parents were big into basketball. I come from a basketball family and they helped me become the player and person I am today,” Carver said. “The way my mom was able to lead our family, and treat me and my siblings with such love and care is how I strive to be when I have a family of my own.”
Carver helps out the team both on and off the court. She supports the idea that team chemistry leads to team success, and will often plan team dinners to help bring the team together.
“I like to prioritize what I like to do when I have free time from basketball or working on homework, like shopping and cleaning my house,” Carver said.
Being a student-athlete, Carver is familiar with the challenges that come with it. Time management is an important skill for student-athletes such as Carver who learned to balance a significant workload on and off the court.
“I have known Emily Carver since she was a rising eighth grader,” Elderkin said at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Media Day. “To see Emily evolve from eighth grade, to ninth grade, to coach her and continue to mentor her has been amazing. She obviously is known in the league for her shooting, but she’s known to our team for so much more than that.”
Carver is currently playing in her third season under Elderkin, and along with her fellow teammates has respect for how she coaches the game.
“We joke all the time that she should be a motivational speaker. All of our pregame speeches are just so motivational, it makes everybody want to get out and give their all for the game,” Carver said at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Media Day. “Everything she brings to the table in practice and in games; she just always has so much wisdom.”
Carver was named to the 2023-24 preseason all Sun Belt team. Throughout the 2023-24 campaign, Carver has appeared in 16 games and currently averages a career-high 15.5 points.
In her appearance against Richmond Dec. 10, Carver set a new single game career-high in three-pointers made with seven threes and was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
“We’re going to make it to the NCAA tournament,” Carver said to Elderkin after her 2021 freshman campaign.
As she builds off of her career game against Richmond, Carver looks to continue her success and help lead the Mountaineers to a potential conference title and a trip to the NCAA tournament throughout the rest of her junior season.
