Photo by Tommy Penick

by LINDSEY HUNTSINGER
Sports Reporter

The Appalachian State women’s basketball team fell 73-68 to Georgia Southern last night in their first Southern Conference game of the season.

The Mountaineers started the game in a physical fashion picking up three team fouls in the first two minutes of play, but died down quickly.

“You have to set the tone right from the start,” freshman forward Anna Freeman said. “They say that the beginning of the first and second halves are the most important part of the game. You either get your opponents feeling good about themselves, or bring them down, and they were definitely feeling good.”

The Mountaineers held tight to a slim lead for the majority of the first half, but with 10 minutes left the Eagles passed the Apps to take a 14-11 lead. Two quick threes by junior guard Sam Ramirez put the Mountaineers back on top 17-14.

“She’s running the point right now for us, and there’s nothing you can be complaining about,” head coach Darcie Vincent said. “We should be 3-3 right now if her teammates would have showed up to play as hard as Sam showed up to play tonight.”

Freshman guard Courtney Freeman pushes past a Georgia Southern player during Wednesday night’s game. Photo by Tommy Penick

The Eagles took over with just under four minutes remaining in the first half, and held on to a 29-22 lead going into the half.

Ramirez led the team in the first half with 11 points, and Freeman added another five points for the Mountaineers.

Appalachian turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, which Vincent said will not be acceptable in conference play.

“We’ve just got to focus better, and honestly we have to know the plays,” Ramirez said. “People didn’t know the plays. So, if we focus better the turnovers will go down.”

In the first three minutes of the second half the Eagles worked to extend their lead to 37-24, after a 24-4 scoring run.

The Mountaineers narrowed Georgia Southern’s lead to nine with continued help from Ramirez beyond the arc, but the comeback fell short.

Appalachian was able to mount a comeback and cut the lead to just three with 17 seconds left in the game.

“It’s very important [to play the whole game],” Ramirez said. “We had our spurts when we were playing like we knew what we were doing, and if we did that the whole game it would be a different story.”

Ramirez finished the game with 14 points, Freeman had 13 and freshman forward Ashlen Dewart contributed 14 more for the Apps.

“What everybody got to see here tonight was 15 minutes of a team that wanted to win,” Vincent said. “You know, you can’t win a basketball game with that. Everything that’s thrown at you is a challenge, and it’s about how you come out of that challenge.”

The Mountaineers are back in action Monday as they go on the road to face the Wildcats of Davidson.

Photos by Tommy Penick  |  The Appalachian

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