WBB: Mountaineers Dethrone Monarchs in Thursday Night Rematch
Jan. 23, 2025
Contact: Katherine Jamtgaard (ja*********@ap******.edu)
Box Score: Attached
BOONE, N.C. – The App State women’s basketball team opened its four-game homestand with a 74-66 victory over Old Dominion on Thursday. The Mountaineers improve to 10-8 on the season and 6-2 in both conference play and at home.
After falling short to ODU (13-7, 5-3 SBC) by a mere seven points last Wednesday, the Mountaineers marked their second program win against the Monarchs. App State’s first program win against ODU was registered on Dec. 29, 2022, also in the Holmes Convocation Center.
“I’m just so thankful for the home court advantage and people getting behind our team,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “I thought the team played really well. Obviously in the first quarter we had great defense. We held ODU to eight points. We challenged our team. We gave up 26 points off turnovers and 24 points off offensive rebounds when we played them a little over a week ago and when I look now, they have eight points off turnovers and 14 second chance points, so it was a much better job by us. Then I peek down and see again we have 27 bench points. We talk about ‘team-ing’ people to death, and we continue to do that. Obviously there’s things we’ve still got to get better at. We’ve got to keep growing, but I thought we really took care of the ball and did what we had to do. I’m really proud of them.”
A quartet of Mountaineers scored double-figures, led by Rylan Moffitt, who, for a third time this season, netted 15 points. She was one point away from her career high of 16, which she set on Jan. 17, 2024 against James Madison. Fellow junior Elena Pericic netted 13 points with Porter following the 12 points on the night. Porter drained a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to help cement App State’s victory. She also dished out five assists and combined with Moffitt for four of App State’s five blocks. Senior Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high seven assists and netted 10 points. Junior Emily Hege grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
App State netted 27 bench points to ODU’s five. The Black and Gold also held ODU to five assists, while dishing out 18. Additionally, App State registered five blocks to Old Dominion’s one.
In the first quarter, Old Dominion jumped to an early 5-0 lead. Senior Mara Neira made a layup, which marked the start of a 15-3 run over the course of the quarter. In the run, Moffitt got to the hoop for a layup to give the Mountaineers a 6-5 edge and made a fastbreak jumper to push App State ahead, 8-5. The Black and Gold controlled the lead for the remainder of play as a trey from Neira and a pair of layups from Tafisi put App State up, 15-8 at the close of the quarter.
In the second quarter, App State and Old Dominion netted 18 points each. App State drained four of its six 3-point buckets in the second quarter as Hege, Pericic, and seniors Emily Carver and Asjah Inniss knocked down treys. ODU also knocked down three of their six treys in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough to match the Mountaineers, as a layup from senior J’Mani Ingram and jumper from Moffitt kept the Mountaineers ahead, 33-26 at the half.
Porter opened the third quarter with a jumper, which Pericic followed up with a layup. The Mountaineers extended their lead to 46-31, building off layups from Tafisi and Ingram, as well as a jumper and 3-point bucket from Moffitt. Pericic got to the hoop for a layup and combined with Moffitt for nine of App State’s 15 points in the quarter. Despite a late 6-0 run from the Monarchs, App State closed the quarter with a 48-39 lead.
Moffitt made a pair of layups and Pericic drained another pair of freebies early in the fourth quarter as ODU chipped away at the deficit. Carver completed a three-point play to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 57-46. Porter, who netted 10 of her 12 points in the period, got to the hoop for a layup and landed a fadeaway jumper. Tafisi and Carver made layups to extend the deficit to 66-53. Old Dominion cut the deficit to six with a 7-0 run. Late in the quarter, Porter was sent to line on three occasions and drained all six of her free throws. Tafisi also drained a pair of freebies to help the Mountaineers clinch a 74-66 victory over the Monarchs.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will host Georgia Southern for Black Saturday at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25. Fans are encouraged to wear black for the game and can purchase tickets in advance for $5. Free parking will be available in the Holmes Parking Deck.
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App State Athletics Strategic Communications
425 Jack Branch Drive
Boone, NC, 28608
www.appstatesports.com
