BOONE, N.C. - Frances Hernandez poured in a career-high 21 points and Brittany Mixon added 18 of her own as the Appalachian State women's basketball team defeated East Tennessee State 73-70 in a nail-biter at the Holmes Center on Wednesday night.

Whitney Tossie drained a pair of jumpers for the first four Appalachian points, before Brittany Mixon grabbed a Tossie miss under the basket and put it back to pull the team within 6-9 early on. Tossie finished the night with eight points, five assists and three steals.

After a Sam Ramirez jumper pulled the squad within a point, Mixon knocked down a long jumper and a layup to give ASU its first lead at 12-11 with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half. Ramirez closed out the night with five points.

Courtney Cunningham extended the lead with a free throw and a jumper in the paint off of an inbounds pass from Tossie before Tossie knocked down her third jumper of the game for a 17-11 lead.

ASU (3-13) continued its 14-2 run thanks to a pair of Frances Hernandez buckets, both assisted by Robin Colbert, and a Cunningham tip-in. The run led to a 24-13 advantage for the Apps. ETSU (6-10) chipped away at the lead and took a 28-27 advantage before Hernandez sank the team's first three-pointer of the night to tie the game at 30-30. Colbert posted four assists and pulled down four rebounds.

The Mountaineers regained the lead in the waning minutes before the intermission and took a 35-32 lead into the locker room. ASU was 15-for-36 from the floor in the opening stanza for 41.7 percent.

Cunningham pulled down eight first-half rebounds in addition to her seven points to lead the Mountaineers. She finished the game with a career-high 11 boards to accompany her seven points and two blocks.

Mixon and GiGi Thomas combined for the first eight Mountaineer points of the second half, as Thomas hit a layup and a pair of free throws and Mixon scored two putback baskets. ETSU then set out on an 8-0 run spanning four minute to take a 45-43 lead before Ramirez hit a trey to regain a one-point lead.

The teams battled back and forth as the clock wound down and ASU did not hold more than a two-point advantage in the final 10 minutes of regulation until Hernandez connected on a four-point play from the left baseline to give the team a 68-65 lead with just over two to play.

Appalachian helf on to a 68-67 lead through the first part of the final minute, as the Lady Bucs were unable to convert on several second-chance attempts. With 35 seconds to play, Hernandez ripped away a steal and helped ice the game with a pair of free throws. The freshman finished the game with four treys.

Colbert the final three points of the night for Appalachian from the charity stripe in the 73-70 victory.

All told, the Mountaineers shot 41.5 percent in the game and sank 13-of-20 free throws. Each team wrangled 11 steals and ASU forced 31 turnovers.

A halftime auction, along with donations from fans, raised over $500 for OASIS, Inc. (Opposing Abuse with Shelter, Information and Services) as a part of the annual "Shoot Out" night.

The Mountaineers take to the road this weekend with a Saturday 7 p.m. SoCon matchup with Elon.