After falling to UNC-Greensboro last weekend, App State women’s basketball responded with an absolute drubbing of Clinton College Wednesday night at the Holmes Convocation Center. The Mountaineers controlled the game from the opening tip, cruising to a 101-44 victory.
The performance marks the first time the Mountaineers surpassed 100 points in nearly two calendar years when they beat Johnson C. Smith University 107-52 on Dec. 10, 2022.
The first quarter saw App State jump out to an early lead they would never relinquish. Senior guard Asjah Inniss scored the first 4 points of the game with open layups, finishing the quarter with 6 points.
While the offense will take most of the headlines, it was the Mountaineers’ defense that shined in the first quarter. App State routinely caused turnovers and forced the Golden Bears into taking poor shots. Clinton College shot just 22% from the field in the quarter, scoring only 5 points while the Black and Gold racked up 24.
App State continued to establish a stranglehold on the game in the second quarter. On Clinton College’s opening possession of the quarter, senior guard Emily Carver recorded a steal and dished it to Inniss for the wide-open layup.
Along with the steal and assist, Carver scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting in the quarter, including hitting 2 three-pointers. The Mountaineers connected on an absurd 86.7% of their shots in the second quarter and went 4-4 from beyond the arc.
While the Black and Gold shot the lights out, Clinton College’s offensive woes continued. Poor spacing and positioning led to 6 turnovers by the Golden Bears in the quarter. The Mountaineers capitalized on the extra possessions, scoring 10 points off turnovers in the quarter.
Senior guard Mara Neira kept the scoring party going, hitting back-to-back threes late in the quarter to help put the Mountaineers ahead by 42 points at the half. As a team, App State shot over 43% from the three-point line in the game.
App State’s offensive onslaught carried over into the second half. After a flurry of buckets from the Mountaineers, Neira connected on 2 more three-pointers early in the third quarter. Junior guard Emily Hege joined the fun, draining a layup to put App State up by more than 50 points.
App State set their sights on reaching the 100-point threshold but opened the fourth quarter ice-cold. The Mountaineers scored just 2 points in the first four minutes of the quarter. The Black and Gold stayed resilient and made some tough baskets to draw closer to the triple-digit mark. A running layup from senior guard Samantha LaFon in the final minute of the game was the finishing touch on the first 100-point game for the Mountaineers in nearly two years.
The Mountaineers made meaningful contributions up and down the entire lineup in their 57-point win. Five players reached double-digit point totals, the team recorded 24 assists and absolutely dominated on the glass, grabbing 46 rebounds. App State racked up 46 bench points and scored 31 points off 21 turnovers from Clinton College.
After the game, head coach Alaura Sharp spoke about the total team effort.
“Really proud of the efficiency of our team today,” she said. “We need that confidence. We need to see the ball go through the basket. Early in the season, we weren’t shooting it very well. I feel like we’re hitting our stride.”
App State welcomes Richmond to the High Country on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.
