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Appalachian drops ball on Senior Day, 79-63 |
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
by ERIK RHYNE
Sports Reporter
In the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team’s 79-63 loss to Georgia Southern University, the Mountaineers were accused of only showing up for half the game.
“We came out in the second half and we were as flat as pancakes,” ASU head coach Adrienne Shuler said. “We had the ball first and you usually set the tone when you do. We just didn’t do a good job. Our players that we depend on didn’t step up tonight. We didn’t get any help from our bench.”
At
the start of the second half, one had to be hopeful Appalachian would
send seniors Whitney Tossie and Courtney Cunningham out with a victory.
However, all chances left the building within the first seven minutes of the second half.
 Senior guard Whitney Tossie scores two of her season-high 27 points Saturday. Photo by Alisha Park
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With the score tied at 35, GSU went on an 18-4 run to start the second session.
What started as a back and forth contest quickly turned GSU’s way.
By the time the Mountaineers realized what was going on, they were trailing 53-39 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
“We just haven’t been able to put two halves together,” Tossie said.
“That’s something we’ve been trying to do this whole season.”
Whenever Appalachian tried to make it game, Georgia Southern would
answer right back. The closest ASU could get was eight points with 10
minutes to go.
The Eagles answered with an 11-3 run to get their biggest lead of the game, 66-50.
“We just came out flat,” Tossie said. “We let [GSU and Tiffany Brown]
get hot early. She was able to hit three’s with nobody on her. To me,
right now, today is really disappointing”
Tossie led all scorers with 27 points and five steals. Cunningham had a career-high 10 points and seven rebounds.
For the senior pair, they started running on all cylinders. After being
honored before the game, the duo combined to score 13 of ASU’s first 16
points.
Neither team wanted to let the others take control of the game as the
lead changed 12 times over the first half and tied nine times.
ASU’s starters kept the team in the game, scoring all but one of its
first half points. Tossie and Cunningham combined for 19 of them.
 Senior Courtney Cunningham scored a career-high 10 points and added seven rebounds in her final home game. Photo by Jeyhoun Allebaugh |
The Mountaineer bench was virtually non-existent throughout the game. The Eagles dominated in bench scoring, winning 35-7.
“I told [the seniors] I hated we couldn’t pull it out for them for a
number of reasons,” Shuler said. “There was a lot riding on this game,
and it was also senior night. Whitney is a quality individual on and
off the court, as well as Courtney. That’s what we’re going to miss
more than anything else.”
If the Mountaineers had pulled off the victory, they would have gained the Southern Conference Tournament’s sixth seed.
However, the loss moves Appalachian to play on the opening day of tournament play.
“We just have to come together and play together,” Tossie said. “Now,
we have to play four games straight. We just have to hit it hard.”
The Mountaineers head into the SoCon Tournament as the eighth seed and
will square off against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Thursday at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C.
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