#articleRelated { display: none !important; } Appalachian State University women's basketball shot 64 percent in the second half to blow open a close game at halftime and come away with an 80-52 win over College of Charleston Thursday night at the Holmes Center.

Appalachian, which trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, closed the period with a 16-6 run to take a slim 29-27 lead into the locker room. From there, the Mountaineers never looked back as they made 16-of-25 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, to outscore College of Charleston 51-25 in the second half.

Defense was also a factor in ASU's second-half explosion, as it forced 16 turnovers and held the Cougars to just 23.3-percent shooting (7-of-30) in the stanza.

Lindsay Smith led the way for the Mountaineers with 13 second-half points, en route to a game-high 19 points on the evening. Kiki Conyers added 15 points, freshman Whitney Tossie chipped in a career-high 13 points, while Eboni Kirby and Danielle Edwards posted 12 and 10, respectively, to round out ASU's five double-figure scorers.

Kirby led all rebounders with nine boards, while Tossie notched game highs with seven assists and five steals.

On the defensive end, Appalachian held College of Charleston's leading scorer, Patrice Bryant, to just four points on 1-of-11 shooting from the floor. Rachel King was the only Cougar in double figures with 14 points.

Appalachian's 28-point triumph matches a 69-41 win over UNC Greensboro on Dec. 18 for its largest margin of victory of the season and its biggest Southern Conference win in five years.

With the victory, the Mountaineers improved to 10-9 on the season and 7-5 in SoCon play, while C of C fell to 7-10 overall and 4-7 in league action.

Appalachian enjoys a rare weekend off before returning to the hardwood next Tuesday when it hosts Davidson at 7 p.m. College of Charleston returns home to face Western Carolina Saturday at 5 p.m.