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Strong second half propels Appalachian |
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Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
by ERIK RHYNE
Sports Reporter
In the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team’s 92-79 victory over Wofford College, the time bomb was set off in the blink of an eye.
With 15 minutes to go and the score tied at 47, ASU began an unstoppable 21-4 run over the next six minutes to change a close game into a blowout.
“Defensively, I thought we did a good job adjusting,” ASU head coach Adrienne Shuler said. “We made
adjustments in our zone in the areas where they were hurting us. I just thought the second half we did
a much better job defensively whether it was ball pressure, containing the penetration and eliminating
their second or third opportunities.”
 Whitney Randolph passes the ball during the first half of Monday's game versus Wofford College. Randolph finished the night with eight points. Photo by Holt Menzies
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The biggest difference seemed to be the change of tempo. In the first half, the Terriers were able to maintain a lead and hold off Appalachian with their 2-3 zone to slow the game down.
Once ASU began its run, Wofford could not keep up. The Terriers tried to go shot-for-shot, but every
missed shot fell into the hands of a Mountaineer waiting.
“There was a lot of hustle, heart and hard work out there,” junior forward Brittany Mixon said. “We saw
each and every person dive after loose balls and go after rebounds… It
was great to see that community and team effort for everyone.”
Mixon led the way for Appalachian with a double-double, tallying 18 points and a career-high 16
rebounds.
It seemed to be an easy day in the office for Mixon, who was consistently matched up against Terriers
that were a couple inches shorter than her.
Even with the height advantage, Mixon found help from her teammates. Four other Mountaineers,
scored in double digits in the contest.
In the early minutes of the game, the Terriers were able to maintain an eight-point lead mainly by
getting second and third chance opportunities.
“In the first half, they were beating us off the dribble and were in [the bonus] with twelve minutes to go,”
Shuler said. “In the second half, our goal was to keep them off the free –throw line and off the boards.
That’s how they were getting their points.”
Trailing 30-23 with five minutes to go, the Mountaineers went on a 19-6 run to take a 39-36 halftime
lead.
“It was just keeping them off the boards, getting in their passing lanes and things of that nature,” ASU
sophomore guard GiGi Thomas said. “Mainly just stopping them defensively was very important. At
halftime we knew we had to pick up our intensity on the defensive end. We were doing good holding the
ball and not turning it over.”
The second half started the way the first finished, then countdown finally reached zero.
“We realized we gave one away at [the University of North Carolina at] Greensboro and gave one away
against Furman [University],” Shuler said. “Coming into January, our goal was to finish strong and
finish with a winning record for the month. We slipped up a little. Just to come back and play like we
did after a disappointing game Saturday, I was very pleased.”
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