Saturday afternoon’s game at the Holmes Convocation Center was a disappointment as the Mountaineers suffered a loss to Chattanooga 69-45.
The Mocs (26-3, 19-1 SoCon) came out on fire and were quick to build a lead against Appalachian (19-8, 13-6) in the first half.
Their defense was strong and it seemed to have the Mountaineers struggling to produce clean shots.
Raven Gary was the first to put points on the board for App State as she sank two free throws with 16:20 on the clock.
App State fought back against the strong defense of Chattanooga and tried to keep the lead small but was unable to strike back hard enough to make the score close.
“We’re just a middle pack team,” head coach Darcie Vincent said. “That’s where we are and where we finished.”
The game was physical in typical Mountaineer fashion and the first half was played at a physically demanding pace.
Toward the end of the first half, it looked as if App State had begun to turn up the heat against the Mocs, but they trailed by 17 points heading into the locker room (44-27).
“When the going gets tough, where are we?” Vincent said. “We’ve lost more games this season just because in the last minute of a game we couldn’t hold on to the ball or make the tough shot.”
At the start of the second half, it looked as if the Mountaineers had found the fire they had been missing during the first half.
However, Chattanooga began to fight back defensively and seemed to be in all the right places when it mattered.
App State had uncharacteristically low point totals, with only two players scoring in the double digits.
Senior Courtney Freeman fouled out with 5:14 left in the game and would be unable to help her teammates try to stop the red-hot offense of Chattanooga.
Gary scored 12 points on the evening, followed by Anna Freeman who posted 10 points.
The Mountaineers shot a bleak 27.9 percent for field goals and 25 percent of their 3-pointers.
“I’ve got to figure something out,” Vincent said. “It’s what my best interest is for this program and make that decision, which is very difficult to do.”
Appalachian State returns to action Monday night, as they take on Samford in the last game of the season. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Story: KAITLYN THRUSTON, Senior Sports Reporter