BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball overcame sluggish first-half play to defeat Wofford Thursday evening at the Holmes Center, handing the Terriers a 76-62 loss. The victory marks Appalachian's fourth in a row and improves ASU to 18-10 on the season and a stout 14-5 in conference action, while Wofford drops to 7-20 overall and 5-14 in the SoCon. With the win, the Apps' finish the 2009-10 home slate of their schedule with an 8-6 record, tying a school-record eight home wins.
After heading into the break tied at 26 all, the score was knotted once more at 43 apiece before the Black and Gold took the lead for good.
ASU used a 17-4 run to go up 54-49 with 6:43 remaining. Sophomore Canesha Edwards (Newnan, Ga./Newnan) provided the spark during the run, as she tallied seven of her career-high 19 points. The Newnan, Ga. native also hauled in 10 rebounds, recording her second double-double of the season in as many contests.
Along with Edwards, Ashlen Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) and Sam Ramirez (Fayetteville, S.C./Southview) chipped in four points during the run as well.
Two Edwards' free throws earned Appalachian its largest lead of the game at 64-54 with 4:03 left to play.
Coming up big at the charity stripe at the end of the contest secured the Mountaineers' 14-point win, as Ramirez and Dewart both connected at the free throw line, totaling six points.
Ramirez stepped her offensive game in the second-period as she scored 18 second-half points, ending the game with 19, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing five steals. She has now scored in double-figures in 10 straight games and is 42 points away from the 1,000 point mark.
It appeared that the Apps' would run away with the game early as freshman Anna Freeman drained a trey at the 7:24 mark of the first period to put ASU up 21-15. However, a chippy Terrier squad continued to be resilient.
Outscoring Appalachian 9-2 over a five minutes span as the clocked ticked to one minute left until halftime, Wofford pulled back on top 24-23.
Scoring her first bucket of the season, sophomore Haley Hackett gave ASU the lead once more and a final Ramirez free throw before intermission tied the game at 26 apiece at the break.
A much improved shooting percentage propelled Appalachian in the second half and final free throws earned Appalachian its 11th victory in 12 games.
The Mountaineers' now hit the road for its final regular-season game, as Appalachian heads to Statesboro, Ga. to battle the Eagles with a shot at finishing second in the conference on the line. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. in GSU's Hanner Fieldhouse.
Notes: The 18 wins are the most since the 1995-96 season (24-6) ... the 14 SoCon wins are also the most since the 1995-96 season ... the season sweep of Wofford was Appalachian's third straight over the Terriers' and eighth in the series ... ASU finishes the season at 6-4 at home against SoCon teams and 8-6 overall at home, tying a school record with eight wins ... Darcie Vincent coached teams are now 4-0 against Wofford.