BOONE, N.C.- Sophomore guard Brittney Spencer drained one of two free throws to put Appalachian State University women's basketball (7-17, 6-9) up 70-68 with a little over one minute to play and the ASU defense was able to come up with a crucial rebound off a missed Summer Nichols jumper with the clock winding down. The following posession Brittany Mixon iced the win for the Black and Gold as she grabbed a rebound off a missed Canesha Edwards shot and layed the ball back in the bucket to help give Appalachian the 72-68 victory over Wofford (4-19, 2-13) Wednesday evening at the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers were down by as many as 13 points in the second half, but were able to rally a comeback, to complete the season sweep of the Terriers, and notch their sixth league win of the season. The sixth SoCon wins surpasses the 2007-08 squad’s SoCon wins total of five.
Wofford came out strong in the first half of play, going on a 17-9 run over the course of nine minutes to give them a 26-19 advantage with 6:26 to play in the first. The Terriers drained five three pointers, with Maddie Helms hitting two of them to put the Apps down by seven. Helms was one of three Terriers to finish in double-figures with 10 points, while Natalie Gramblin posted 17.
ASU responded going on a 7-2 streak of their own, with Sade Means scoring six of the Apps points to put the Mountaineers down by just four with a 1:43 remaining until the break.
Four final second first half free throws by Helms pushed ASU's deficit back to eight points at the intermission.
Appalachian would not go away quietly, and posted just its third comeback of the year after being down at halftime, as ASU went on a 14-5 little under six minute run with Mixon scoring four points, Means notching five and Frances Hernandez scoring on two back to back posessions to put ASU down 53-51 with 9:23 remaining.
Mixon finished the evening with a game-high 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds, recording her sixth double-double of the season, and making it the first time in her career that she posted two consecutive double-double games. She scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half. Means was impressive as well, with 15 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals.
The Black and Gold took their first lead of the night when Sam Ramirez drilled a trey to give ASU the 58-56 advantage.The two squads battled in the final minutes, but Appalachiain was able to hold off a pesky Terrier squad and pull out the win.
Ramirez also finished the contest in double-figure scoring, with 15 points, six rebounds, and a game-high five assists.
The Mountaineers stout shooting proved to be crucial, shooting 51.7 percent. The Terriers shot 38.9 percent on the evening, making all seven of ASU's wins this season coming when its opponent shoots less than 40 percent from the field.
ASU's four blocks in the contest also give the Mountaineers 100 blocks for the 2008-09 campaign, and sets the new school record for team blocks in a season that was set by the 1984-85 ASU team.
The Apps look to carry their momentum into a huge SoCon matchup, as ASU takes on top-tier conference newcomer Samford Saturday February 14 at 2 p.m. in the Holmes Center.