App State women’s basketball traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to take on the Old Dominion University Monarchs. They fell short Wednesday night 65-54.
The Mountaineers got the scoring started after senior guard Emma Smith sank a 3-pointer from deep in response to a Monarch layup after tipoff.
A pair of turnovers on both sides of the ball gave the Monarchs one extra look, putting them up 5-8 with just under six minutes in the first quarter.
A 3-pointer made by senior guard Emily Hedge evened out the score 8-8 with less than four minutes on the clock.
Hedge was responsible for 7 of the 14 Mountaineer points in the quarter. Four turnovers from the Mountaineers was a crucial part of them not maintaining a consistent lead.
Sophomore guard Jayden McBride sank her first shot of the game after coming off of a career high 26-point night Monday against the University of Southern Mississippi.
The story continued, as the first play of the second quarter was another steal, and just 30 seconds later, the Monarchs knocked away another one.
Within the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Black and Gold could only put 3 points on the board.
The Monarchs knocked down a 3-pointer with less than three minutes before halftime giving them the largest lead of the game at 18-22.
Junior guard Daisia Mitchell responded with a near half court shot to knock the deficit down to 21-22 with just over a minute left.
App State had some work to do in terms of ball possession and control as they gave up 7 turnovers in the second quarter. A 28% field goal percentage paired with a 20% 3-point percentage in the first half were numbers that needed to change.
The Monarch’s momentum continued into the third quarter off of a couple fast breaks and shots at the free throw line propelled them to a 27-36 lead with seven minutes left on the clock. The Monarch’s momentum continued into the third quarter
A series of missed and blocked shots held the Monarchs above ground against App State leading 40-32 with just over four minutes in the third quarter.
The end of the third quarter was marked with a score of 34-47. McBride led all scorers with 11 points and 5 rebounds. The bench only tallied 3 points in the first three quarters.
App State found their grit again, scoring 5 points in the first two minutes of the last quarter. However, it wasn’t enough to shake the Monarchs, who had an answer for every bucket.
Senior forward Elena Pericic got the Mountaineers up 53-44, only trailing by a 9 point deficit with just five minutes remaining.
Full court pressure by App State forced a turnover giving them the ball with a minute and a half on the clock.
The Mountaineers got an and-1 and followed with an offensive rebound giving them another look at a wide open basket. App State made the score 53-59 with only 30 seconds on the clock.
The Black and Gold ended their night 65-54. McBride had another solid performance with 15 points combined with 7 rebounds.
The road trip continues as the team will head to Georgia State University to test their luck against the Panthers Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
