College of Charleston
Appalachian State
First Half Dooms Cougars in 69-47 Loss to Mountaineers
1/27/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The College of Charleston women's basketball team shot just 23 percent in the game, including only 15.4 in the first half to fall to the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 69-47, in action in front of 567 fans at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.
Charleston falls to 10-11 overall and 5-5 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State improves to 10-11 and 4-6 in the league.
ASU held CofC to 23 (14-of-61) percent shooting from the field, including 15.4 (4-of-26) percent in the first half. The Cougars' 47 points were three more than the fewest the Mountaineers have allowed this season. Thirteen of CofC's 19 turnovers were forced by the Mountaineers in the first half.
Maria Grimes and Whitney Tossie led the Mountaineer offense with 17 and 15 points, respectively. GiGi Thomas chipped in 12 points.
No Cougars scored in double-digits but they were led by Brooke Kotcella with eight points. Jill Furstenburg and Erika Smith added six points apiece. Smith led the team on the boards with seven rebounds.
Nikki Williams broke a 10-minute field goal drought by the Cougars with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 31-15 with 16:50 to go. ASU's Grimes countered with a three of her own giving the Mountaineers a 19-point lead back with 16:30 remaining in the game.
Appalachian went on another run, this time an 18-0 run in the next three minutes to extend the lead to 34 points at 49-15 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game. Ashley Scott snapped the run with a jumper at the 12:55 mark to make the score 49-17.
The Cougars took advantage of Mountaineer fouls and went on a 12-0 run in the next three minutes to cut the lead to 22 points at 49-27. Appalachian followed with six-straight points of their own to extend the lead to 55-27 with 8:12 to go in the game.
CofC used another run, this time a 14-1 run to cut the lead to 14 points at 56-42 with 3:33 to go in the game. Costner snapped the run with a three-pointer, but Kotcella hit a trey of her own to keep the ASU lead at 14 points with just under three minutes to go. A 6-0 run gave ASU a 65-45 lead with 2:18 to go.
The Mountaineers outscored the Cougars, 4-2 in the final two minutes as they went on to a 69-47 victory.
The College of Charleston scored first to open up the game, but the Mountaineers put away two-straight buckets to take its first lead at 4-2 with 17:20 to go in the half. An early seven points by Tossie helped the Mountaineers jump out to an 11-7 lead with 9:50 left in the first period.
A three-pointer by Whitney Ketner helped ASU double-up on the CofC with a 14-7 lead with 9:40 to go in the first half. A free throw by the Cougars' Williams and layup by Moye cut the Appalachian lead to four points at 14-10 with 7:15 to go in the half, before a layup by Thomas gave ASU a 16-10 lead at the seven minute mark.
Appalachian continued on a 12-0 run from that point to go into halftime with a 16-point, 26-10 lead. The 10 points by the Cougars are the fewest allowed by ASU in a half this season. The Mountaineers also held the Cougars to 15 percent shooting in the opening period.
The Mountaineers remain at home as they host Furman on Monday, January 29 at 4:30 p.m. The Cougars are next in action Wednesday, Jan. 31st when they travel to Davidson for a 7:00 p.m. game.
