Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 76, College of Charleston 62
BOONE, NC ? Appalachian State University women’s basketball used a 14-0 run in the first 18 and a half minutes of the game to defeat the College of Charleston, 76-62, in its Southern Conference opener Thursday at the Holmes Center.
Senior Eboni Kirby (Tallahassee, Fla.) and freshman Greteya Kelley (Suwanee, Ga.) led the scoring corps with 14 points apiece. Kirby added five rebounds, while Kelley chipped in six boards and three steals.
With the win the Mountaineers start the SoCon season off with a perfect 1-0 league record and a 3-4 overall mark, and have won their last two conference openers. The Cougars drop to 3-4 overall and an even 1-1 in conference play.
Junior Danielle Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds on the night, just one short of her second consecutive double-double as she added 13 points. Senior Kiki Conyers (Tallahassee, Fla.) had 10 points for the Mountaineers on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, while sophomore Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) dished out a game-high six points while adding a career-high three blocks, eight total points and four steals.
Freshman Jade Hughes and junior Christina Williams led the Cougars with 16 points apiece. Hughes tied a team-high with six rebounds and added three steals, while Williams chipped in three assists. Erica Irick also scored in double-digits for CofC, finishing with 11 points.
The Mountaineers recorded a season-high with six blocked shots on the night. Three came from Tossie, while freshman Whitney Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.) added two.
Appalachian got control of the ball at the opening tip and jumped out to a quick 14-0 run with 13:21 remaining in the half. With the first period almost 50 percent through, College of Charleston scored its first basketball at the 11:12 mark to trail 14-2.
From that point, the Mountaineers never led by less than nine points in the half as the two teams went into halftime with the home team leading by 13, 38-25.
Less than 20 seconds into the second half, Edwards hit a layup to extend Appalachian’s 38-25 halftime lead to 40-25. Williams answered back on CofC’s next possession with a layup of her own.
After the Cougars starting pressing with about five minutes left to play, the visitors were able to pull within 10 points at 70-60 with 1:25 left in the game. It was too little, too late as the Mountaineers ended the game on a 6-2 run to defeat the Cougars, 76-72, at the Holmes Center.