The Appalachian State Mountaineers picked up a victory over Wofford Sunday afternoon in the Holmes Convocation Center, 77-50, making this head coach Darcie Vincent’s 100th career win with App State.
Early on, fans could tell that this would not be a repeat of earlier in the season when the Terriers (7-15, 2-12) took Appalachian (15-6, 9-4 SoCon) into double-overtime.
“We’ve been talking about that double overtime game for a long time,” senior guard Raven Gary said. “When we came out, we wanted to open up strong and play hard and make sure there was no chance for this game to go to any overtime.”
The Mountaineers were ready for action as soon as the game started and put up an 8-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
App State played well defensively and never let Wofford take the lead during the game.
During the game, they were able to rotate a large amount of their players on and off the court. All five freshmen boasted playing time and three of the five were able to contribute to the Mountaineer lead.
“Coming here, to a very disciplined establishment it’s been a hard adjustment for me,” said freshman Khadejah Wilkerson. “But with the help of a couple seniors and other post players it’s getting easier.”
Even though the Mountaineers were able to put pressure on the Terriers with around six minutes remaining in the first half, they were able to cut the lead to only 10 points.
App State was able to pull away slightly before ending the first half with a 15-point lead (31-16).
During the second half, Wofford began to put more pressure on the Mountaineers offensively.
However, they proved no match for Appalachian’s defense and were unable to make the deficit less than 20 points.
“When you put that much pressure on a team, it’s going to take a lot of their legs and lungs to play in the second half with us,” Vincent said.
The Mountaineers boasted their biggest lead of 27 points with one second remaining in the game.
Anna Freeman was able to get another double-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Maryah Sydnor followed with 14 points, while Courtney Freeman and Raven Gary scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Appalachian State shot 48.4 percent from the field during the game compared with Wofford’s 28.3 percent.
The Mountaineers will travel to Cullowhee Monday as they take on Western Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Story: KAITLYN THRUSTON, Senior Sports Reporter