The Mountaineers made the trip down to Macon, Georgia, to face the Mercer Bears Saturday, taking a dominant win 74-61.
The Black and Gold almost immediately went up for good after junior forward Elena Pericic made a layup to put the team up 4-3, just five seconds after Mercer took their only lead of the game.
The Mountaineers then put the hammer down, extending their lead to 18-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a display of complete dominance by App State. They outscored the Bears 22-5 and held them to just 1-11 from the field, holding a 40-15 when the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Mountaineers shot 14-30 from the field in the half, 7-7 from the free throw line and 5-11 from three.
The third quarter started out on a similar trajectory to the first two as App State extended their lead to 31 with 4:36 remaining in the frame. However, Mercer fought back and ended up outscoring the Mountaineers in the period 21-19.
Despite this effort, the Black and Gold still enjoyed a 59-36 lead going into the fourth.
The Bears put together a good quarter, reducing their deficit with a 25-15 performance, though most of those points came after their chance to win had already flown the coop.
When the final buzzer rang out, the Mountaineers took the win and improved their record to 4-6.
The team shot at a high clip all game, going 25-55 from the field for 45.5%, 10-22 from three-point land for 45.5% and 14-16 from the charity stripe for 87.5%.
Several Mountaineers had standout performances in Georgia. Senior guard Mara Neira led App State in scoring, contributing 17 points while showcasing exemplary efficiency, going 6-7 from the field and 5-6 from three.
Pericic led all players on the boards, pulling down 9 rebounds including 4 offensive.
Finally, senior guard Eleyana Tafisi was the Mountaineers’ leading playmaker, dishing out 5 assists on the day.
The Mountaineers will return to Boone Dec. 29 to host the Arkansas State Red Wolves in their conference opener. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
