Appalachian State fell to Elon 56-59 in the first round of the SoCon tournament in Asheville, ending the season with a 13-16 overall record and a 10-8 SoCon record.
The last time the Mountaineers took on the Phoenix at home they came out on top with a final score of 71-60. Unlike last time, App State struggled to keep the lead in a back-and-forth affair that featured 10 tied scores and 14 lead changes.
“Today’s game was way more physical,” head coach Darcie Vincent said. “I think it’s just a completely different kind of mentality when you hit the tournament that you have to go out there and you have to fight.”
Elon outscored App State in the paint 26-18 and had a field goal percentage of 43.1. The Mountaineers struggled from the field, shooting 33.9 percent on the day.
With 11 minutes left, the Phoenix led by seven – its largest margin of the game. Vincent said she called her team over and told them the game was still within reach.
“I looked at the kids and their faces were defeated,” Vincent said. “They came out of the timeout realizing that they had plenty of time. I just had to remind them of who they were and that was when we fought back.”
App State did not panic, as they worked their way back into the game. Junior forward Maryah Sydnor hit a three-pointer in the game’s final six minutes to put App State back in the lead 45-44.
After falling behind by four points in the final 30 seconds of the game, junior guard Katie Mallow hit her second three-pointer of the game, cutting Elon’s lead to 57-56.
App State fouled Elon’s sophomore forward Autumn Coffer, who made both of her free throws to make the Phoenix lead 59-56 with 9.8 seconds left in the game.
The Mountaineers inbounded the ball and worked their way down the floor, allowing Sydnor to get a 3-point shot off at the final buzzer, but it was no good.
App State went into the game with five freshmen on the roster. Vincent said the inexperience was a key factor in the game.
“You can coach a lot of different things but you can’t give them experience,” Vincent said. “The only way that happens is on every day and every game they get to play.”
Mallow notched a career-high seven assists and put up 15 points in the game while also playing a team-high 39 minutes.
The top scorer for the Mountaineers was Sydnor, who scored 16 points.
“We knew everything that they were going to do and we didn’t execute like we had at home,” Sydnor said. “It was just a fight for the whole 40 minutes.”
App State will lose seniors Jessica Barrios and Michelle Taylor to graduation before the start of next season. Sydnor and Mallow will be the only two seniors in the Mountaineers’ first Sun Belt campaign next season.
“I think it will be good that we have so many young people,” Mallow said. “Next year they’ll still be new to the conference, and that’s good also because they can still play [like] freshmen but with a year of experience.”
Story: Jess Lyons, Sports Reporter
Photo: Justin Perry, Web Manager