App State women’s basketball came up short at home Sunday against an undefeated Richmond team. While the Mountaineers put up a good fight, they ultimately fell to the Spiders with a final score of 61-73.
The Black and Gold started hot on the night as they took an early lead and were able to maintain it throughout the first quarter. This lead was headlined by junior forward Elena Pericic who put up 2 three-pointers early in the game. With the final seconds of the first quarter waning, the Mountaineers held a 22-16 lead.
Scoring for both teams died down in the second quarter and both squads only combined for a total of 22 points, 8 of which came from App State. Despite a good showing on defense, Richmond was able to tie everything up at 30-30 going into halftime.
Senior guard Emily Carver was the team’s leading scorer in the first half, putting up 7 points while Pericic finished second with 6.
The Black and Gold admittedly struggled to contain the Spiders’ offense in the third quarter as Richmond was able to take a 12-point lead as they scored 22 compared to App State’s 10.
Going into the fourth, App State had an uphill battle and managed to go toe to toe with the Spiders as both teams put up 21 points, resulting in a Mountaineer loss.
While the team was unable to secure a win, it cannot be said that there were no bright spots as Carver scored 18 on the night which got her the milestone of 1,000 career points. She neared this goal by starting out with 7 points in the first quarter and later achieved this with a three-pointer in the fourth which made her only the 29th player in program history to hold this exclusive title.
While they lost in the paint, the Mountaineers had dominated the night in the rebound aspect with 43 compared to Richmond’s 37.
While it was not the outcome they had hoped for, App State looks to bounce back with a win over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday. The game between the Mountaineers and the Runnin’ Bulldogs tips off at 6:30 p.m. at Holmes Convocation Center and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
