The Appalachian State women’s basketball team finished a season sweep over the College of Charleston Cougars Wednesday night at the Holmes Convocation Center and won 74-65.
The Mountaineers (18-6, 12-4 SoCon) put up a strong defense in the beginning of the game and were the first to put points on the board when Kelsey Sharkey scored two points against the Cougars (12-14, 8-9).
“I was nervous in tonight’s game because I know [College of Charleston has] been playing so well,” head coach Darcie Vincent said.
During the first half, the pace of the game was quick and College of Charleston made it a struggle for the Mountaineers to hold on to the ball.
With 9:25 on the clock, the Cougars were able to pull out a four-point lead, which would prove to be their largest lead of the night.
Immediately after that, App State responded as Katie Mallow tied the score with eight minutes on the clock (20-20).
App State began building pressure toward the end of the first half, and took away a seven-point lead heading into the second half (37-30).
Once again, this game showcased a wide range of freshmen on the Mountaineer bench.
“It felt pretty good but I know I need to come out harder next time and get more minutes,” freshman Keke Cooper said.
The College of Charleston seemed to have lost some of the offensive spark they carried in the first half.
Latisha Harris, the leading scorer for the Cougars averaging 13.6 points per game, was held to only one point and fouled out with 5:46 left in the game.
“We’ve been really focusing on taking away the top two players inside and out and I think that’s been working,” senior forward Courtney Freeman said. “We were doubling down on her and she wasn’t really a factor tonight.”
Appalachian had their players in all the right places and began taking advantage of the Cougar’s mistakes.
In no mood to be taken advantage of, the College of Charleston battled until the end.
“We are taking steps in the right direction,” said senior forward Anna Freeman. “We didn’t end it the way we wanted to, when you’re getting this close to the tournament you want to leave doubt in everybody’s mind and we didn’t do that tonight.”
The Mountaineers had two players foul out late in the second half. Raven Gary took the bench with 5:55 left, while Katie Mallow left the game with only 13 seconds remaining.
Seniors led the Appalachian offense with Courtney Freeman scoring 19 points, followed by Anna Freeman and Kelsey Sharkey scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Sharkey and Anna Freeman had 14 and 18 rebounds, respectively.
Appalachian shot 41.5 percent of field goals while holding the Cougars to a poor 29.1 percent.
App State will travel for its final two road games of the season. They visit UNCG Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Elon Monday at 7 p.m.
Story: KAITLYN THRUSTON, Senior Sports Reporter