App State Women’s Basketball Falls to Kent State 68-63 in MAC-SBC Challenge
ASF StaffFeb 12, 2026 · 3 min read · 1 views
Image Courtesy Of App State Facebook
In the second installment of this season’s MAC-SBC Challenge, the App State women’s basketball team (10-13, 3-9 SBC) fell to Kent State 68-63 despite four ties and four lead changes on Friday.
Top Performers
For an eighth game this season, junior Daisia Mitchell led the Mountaineers with 18 points while shooting 100 percent from the free-throw line. She combined with graduate student Jada Burton for nine of App State’s 13 steals. Freshman Addie Biel added 14 points, and sophomore Feryal Defne Atli scored 12.
Senior Elena Pericic grabbed six rebounds to lead the team, while combining with fellow senior Emma Smith for seven of App State’s 13 assists. The Mountaineers scored 20 bench points compared to Kent State’s nine and dominated the paint 40-26. App State is now 3-3 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
How It Happened
Atli and Biel led App State through the first half, scoring 21 of the Mountaineers’ 30 first-half points. Atli opened with a layup to tie the game at 2-2 before Kent State jumped to a 10-4 lead. Biel’s layup and two free throws cut the deficit to two (10-8), and senior Emily Hege’s 3-pointer made it a one-point game (12-11), but Kent State closed the first quarter ahead 21-17.
After an early second-quarter drought, App State mounted a 6-0 run. Down 39-26 late in the period, Biel made a fastbreak layup and Burton stole the ball for a last-second layup, cutting Kent State’s halftime lead to 39-30.
App State and Kent State swapped the lead four times in the second half, with the score tied three times. Mitchell scored 16 of her 18 points in the final 20 minutes.
Third-Quarter Surge
The Mountaineers outscored Kent State 20-14 in the third quarter. An early 7-0 run featuring an Atli jumper and Mitchell’s layup and three-point play cut the deficit to two. Smith’s triple, Biel’s free throws, and Pericic’s layup gave App State a 45-44 lead—the first of two lead changes in the period. Mitchell tied the score twice as the teams battled, with Kent State taking a 53-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth-Quarter Battle
App State opened the final period with an 8-0 run featuring layups from freshman Riley Stoker, Burton, Smith, and Mitchell to take its biggest lead of the game at 58-53. Kent State answered with a 13-0 run to go ahead 66-58 as the Mountaineers faced a scoring drought.
With 24 seconds left, Mitchell’s layup and three-point play cut the deficit to three (66-63), but Kent State sealed the victory with two free throws.
Up Next
App State returns home to host James Madison on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. and Georgia State on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. Both games stream on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Wednesday with a pregame clinic featuring App State women’s sports teams and free t-shirts for the first 200 fans, followed by a postgame autograph session.
Saturday’s game against Georgia State is Pink Day and Alumni Day, featuring a t-shirt giveaway for the first 100 students and another postgame autograph session.
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