The Appalachian State women’s basketball team outlasted Lenoir Rhyne 56-40 in the last of two exhibition games in Boone for the Mountaineers.
Coming off a blowout win over Coker in their first exhibition, App struggled to start the game with foul trouble leading to the Bears taking a six point lead in the first half. After a 9-0 second half run, App took the lead and didn’t look back on route to the win.
Redshirt sophomore guard Q Murray, who missed last season due to transfer rules started the game with a fast score seconds into the game, starting a run for the Mountaineers giving them a 12-5 lead leading to an early timeout from Lenoir Rhyne.
Coming back to tie the game after the timeout and a quick back-and-forth to start the second quarter, both teams dug deep with defensive stand after defensive stand.
In the five minutes after both teams’ quarter-opening points, there would be only a single score, a layup from Lenoir Rhyne’s Brooke Robinson to put the score at 23-20. App would go on a 9-0 run during the quarter, but the visitors were able to hang on and keep App’s lead close at 29-28 at the half.
Lenoir Rhyne had 11 turnovers at halftime, compared to the Mountaineers’ four,
“It was just our activity on the ball, deflections, being in the gaps and just sticking with our defensive principles,” head coach Elderkin said. “We just stuck to our principles, and wanted to see how our team responded.”
That defense would continue to strong-arm the Lenoir Rhyne offense through the third quarter, allowing only six points, with four coming in a two-minute span early in the quarter. App meanwhile added 11 more to their lead, giving themselves a six-point cushion at 40-34 at the end of the quarter.
App would pull away in the fourth quarter, putting up 16 points to Lenoir Rhyne’s six. App’s fast-break offense went into full effect in the last few minutes of the game, despite Lenoir Rhyne’s best efforts to slow it down, and scored 11 in the final five.
Senior guard Bria Carter lamented the slow start, and not being able to get as many fast-breaks to count until the later stages of the game.
“I think that’s where we get a majority of our offense,” Carter said. “That’s kind of what hurt us tonight, we didn’t get many fast breaks so it did slow our offense down, but it’s very important in our team concept.”
The Mountaineers now turn their attention to a road game against DePaul, ranked No. 21 in the nation. As one of the most offensively talented teams in the nation, DePaul won’t be an easy game, but the Mountaineers have to be encouraged by what their defense through their two exhibitions.
Story By: Ian Taylor, Sports Reporter