App State women’s basketball was defeated by Norfolk State 67-53 Thursday in their first road game of the season.
The Black and Gold entered the game 2-0, while the Spartans came in 3-0 as well as ranked 21st in Collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 18-12 first quarter lead following a breakaway layup from junior guard J’Mani Ingram. The Spartans responded with a 14-3 run to close the first and open up the second quarter, putting them ahead 26-21.
The back and forth trend continued for the majority of the contest as the game saw seven lead changes. Junior guard Faith Alston sank a three pointer late in the second quarter, trimming the Spartan lead to 30-28 entering halftime.
Sophomore guard Chaé Harris drilled a three pointer with 4:09 left to play in the third quarter, bringing the Black and Gold within one at 39-38. Norfolk State countered with a 7-0 run, closing the quarter ahead 46-38.
A jump shot from graduate student guard Mariah Frazier, followed by a converted free throw from Harris cut the lead to 48-45 with 7:25 remaining. This was the closest the Mountaineers got before the Spartans broke away, going on a 10-0 run to take a 58-45 lead. App State was unable to get back within single digits, and lost 67-53.
Shooting was a problem for the Mountaineers as the team shot just 29.4% from the field, their lowest mark of the season. Turnovers continued to plague the Black and Gold as they committed 18 on the night. Defensively, App State’s activity took a dip as they only managed to come up with four steals.
Junior guard Emily Carver led the way for the Black and Gold with 14 points and eight rebounds. The Mountaineer bench came up big, totaling 22 points led by Harris who contributed 10 points to go with five rebounds and one block.
App State is now 2-1 on the season and will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a matchup with Furman in the first of a two-game event titled the Thanksgiving Basketball Classico. The game will take place Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
