App State Women’s Basketball Defeats South Alabama 60-57, Prepares for ULM on Friday

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The App State women’s basketball team (10-10, 3-7 SBC) defended its home court Thursday, defeating South Alabama 60-57. The Mountaineers will face ULM on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Holmes Center, with the game moved up from Saturday due to forecasted weather.

Coach Sharp’s Reaction

“What a great win for our team,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “The word that we have used a lot this week is ‘adversity.’ We’ve got some kids kind of banged up, Emma Smith hasn’t practiced or done anything since the Louisiana game and for her to come out and to be able to play like that, that shows a lot of grit and toughness.”

“We dug a huge hole in the first half. We had eight points in the first quarter and got down 12 and all of a sudden we lit a fire under us and climbed our way back in, went into halftime with the lead and I thought our defense was really good. To hold their post player, who is very good, to six points, a lot of credit to Feryal Defne Atli and Addie Biel.”

Top Performers

Junior Daisia Mitchell and senior Emma Smith led the Mountaineers with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The pair combined for five of App State’s six 3-pointers, with graduate student Jada Burton hitting the sixth. Smith extended her double-figure scoring streak to six games, while Mitchell reached double digits for the 13th time this season. Senior Elena Pericic led the team with eight rebounds—her fifth game as top rebounder—and senior Emily Hege dished out four assists.

App State shot 42.9 percent from three-point range and 42.2 percent from the field while holding South Alabama to 20.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers scored 17 bench points compared to South Alabama’s six.

How It Happened

South Alabama jumped to a 7-0 lead after Atli opened the scoring with a layup. Freshman Riley Stoker cut the deficit to one (7-6), but the Jaguars closed the first quarter ahead 16-8 and extended the lead to 12 early in the second quarter.

App State responded with an 11-0 run featuring 3-pointers from Smith and Burton and two Smith free throws to tie the game at 25. South Alabama answered with a three, but Hege gave the Mountaineers a 29-28 halftime lead with two free throws and a jumper. Smith scored eight second-quarter points, shooting 100 percent from the field, arc, and charity stripe.

The Mountaineers opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, sparked by Mitchell’s free throws and 3-pointer and Atli’s jumper. Mitchell scored eight of App State’s 17 third-quarter points. Biel’s tip-in layup kept the Mountaineers ahead 40-36, but South Alabama cut the deficit to 46-42 entering the fourth quarter.

App State maintained the lead through the final period. Pericic’s layup and Smith’s three extended the advantage to 51-44. Mitchell went on a personal 4-0 run, completing a three-point play and adding a free throw. South Alabama cut it to 59-57 with 13 seconds left, but Biel’s free throw sealed the victory.

ULM Preview

App State is 15-0 all-time against ULM. The teams last met Feb. 5, 2025, with the Mountaineers winning 73-71 on Zada Porter’s driving layup.

ULM (8-12, 3-8 SBC) has lost three straight. Former Mountaineer J’Mani Ingram leads the Warhawks with 11.4 points per game, while Nakiyah Mays-Prince averages 10.2 points and leads the Sun Belt with 4.4 assists per game.

Admission and parking for Friday’s game are free.