Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information

Appalachian State 85, East Tennessee State 73

BOONE, NC - Appalachian State University women's basketball extended its winning streak to four games with a 85-73 victory over East Tennessee State on Wednesday evening at the Holmes Center.

Four Mountaineers scored in double-digits, led by senior Kiki Conyer’s hot shooting as she finished 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc for a .857 shooting mark and 19 points. Conyers was a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line.

With the win, Appalachian improves to 5-4 on the season, while East Tennessee State drops to 5-3 overall. For the second game in a row, the Mountaineers out-rebounded their opponent and tied a season low with just 15 turnovers. Appalachian stayed just above its nationally ranked 12.8 steals per game average with 13 on the night.

Junior Danielle Edwards recorded her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 boards. The 6-0 forward added a team-high five assists.

The Mountaineers hit a season-high seven three pointers led by Conyers’ three and two by freshman Whitney Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.). Ketner finished the night with a career-high 13 points, her first two three-pointers of her career and a .714 field goal percentage.

Fellow freshman Greteya Kelley tallied 11 points and three assists for the Mountaineers. Sophomore Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) put in another solid performance for the Apps with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

The Buccaneers had three double-digit scorers as B.J. Banjo recorded a game-high 20 points. The senior guard added five rebounds and three assists. Senior Candace Gibson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and chipped in 17 points, while sophomore Jenny Norman added 14 points and six rebounds.

After trailing by as many as nine with 13:55 remaining in the first half, Appalachian tied the game at 28 on Conyers’ first three pointer of the night. ETSU took the lead once again before Conyers’ added her second three of the night to give ASU its first lead since the 19 minute mark at 33-31 with 5:05 to play in the half.

The Mountaineers outscored the Buccaneers, 11-5 in the final five minutes of the half to take a 10-point, 46-36, lead into halftime.

ETSU got as close as seven in the opening minutes of the second half off a 6-0 run. That was as close as the visitors would get as Appalachian went on to win its fourth-straight game with an 85-73 victory over former Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State.

Story Courtesy UNC Greensboro sports information

UNC Wilmington 65, UNC Greensboro 54

WILMINGTON, NC  - Candace Walker scored a career-high 18 points to lead UNC Wilmington to a 65-54 victory over UNC Greensboro in non-conference women’s basketball action Wednesday afternoon at Trask Coliseum. The win gives the Seahawks four in a row, while the Spartans have dropped two straight after winning their three prior games.

Sophomore guard Kristen Boone equaled her career-high with 18 points to lead UNCG (4-5). She had eight rebounds, tied her career-best with seven assists, which she set against UNCW last season, and had a game-high six steals. Also, freshman guard Gini Grimsley added nine points off the bench in the second half.

Walker was 7-for-8 from the field for UNCW (6-2). Stephanie Fernald added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Lori Drake added nine points in the first half.

UNCG limited the Seahawks to only one field goal in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to get the Spartans back into the game after falling behind by 16 points at the break. The combination of UNCG’s full-court press and Grimsley’s nine points off the bench led to a 13-2 spurt that cut its deficit to six points, 40-34, with 9:59 remaining.

However, Fernald drilled a pair of treys on consecutive possessions to put UNCW back up comfortably, 52-38, with 6:12 left in regulation. The Seahawks would later go up by as many as 20, 63-43, on a conventional three-point play by Denise Lawrence with 2:53 showing on the clock.

UNCG scored a season-low 18 first half points to trail 34-18 heading to halftime. The Spartans shooting woes continued as they converted only 24.1 (7-for-29) percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. UNCW broke open a tight, 16-13, game by closing the half on a 20-5 run over the final 10:51. Walker and Drake led the Seahawks with seven points respectively in the run as the home team converted 50.0 (12-for-24) percent of their field goals in the half.

The Spartans led in the rebounding column, 38-31. Both teams turned the ball over 23 times and went 14-of-17 from the free throw line, led by Boone?s 8-for-9 performance.

UNCG gets back to action after its holiday break on December 31 when the Spartans visit Coastal Carolina for a 1 pm contest in Conway, SC. It will be the first time UNCG has left the state of North Carolina this year. Meanwhile, UNCW will take on Kansas State on December 29 at the St. Peter’s Holiday Classic in Jersey City, NJ.

GAME NOTES

UNCG upended the Seahawks 79-68 at Fleming Gym last December 20 in its final game before the holiday’s ... The Spartans were 3-6 at this point last season ... Boone has at least one steal in all 33 games in her career ... UNCG is 0-5 when they trail at the half ... Head Coach Lynne Agee remains one win shy of 525 career victories ... The Spartans are 0-3 when they score less than 60 points.