College of Charleston
Appalachian State
Appalachian State Earns 78-62 Comeback Win
1/6/2011 2:23:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The College of Charleston women's basketball team suffered through a shooting slump in the second half and the Appalachian State Mountaineers were able to erase a halftime deficit and take the 78-62 win in action tonight in front of 377 fans at Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, N.C.
The Cougars (4-10, 1-4) led for all but a minute of play in the first half, in part to a 41.7 percent shooting and an 11-for-11 effort from the free throw line, six of which came from Janae Smith (Matteson, Ill.) who was perfect from the charity stripe. Charleston was also six for-12 from the perimeter.
Smith, Megan Fischer (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) and Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) each had two in the half, none of which was bigger than the one at 7:14 by Smith, which snapped a 7-0 run by the Mountaineers that saw the Mountaineers' first lead of the game (24-22) erased.
Appalachian State (9-3, 3-1) shot 43.8 percent from the field in the half but was just three-for-eight in three-pointers and four-for-10 from the free throw line.
The Mountaineers started the second half with a 10-2 run to take the 45-39 lead with 15:45 to go. Charleston put up its first field goal of the second half at 15:25 off the short jumper by Gerty to trail 45-41. Mountaineer Ashlen Dewart responded with a three-pointer to take the lead up to seven, 48-41 at 14:40.
Appalachian State outscored Charleston 23-11 the first 10 minutes of the second half and led 58-48, its largest margin of the game to that point. The final 10 minutes was much of the same as the Mountaineers took control, leading by as much as 18, as the Cougars only converted three field goals, although connecting on eight free throws. In all, ASU outscored the Cougars 20-14 in the final 10 minutes to take the 78-62 win.
Charleston shot just 20.6 percent in the second half, while the Mountaineers connected on 17-of-37 for 45.9 percent. Appalachian State finished the game 44.9 percent for the game, while Charleston was 29.3. Perimeter shooting went cold for the Cougars in the second half as they went 0-for-seven to finish the game six-for-19. ASU was five-for-14 for the game.
Leading the Cougars was Smith with 15 points and Gerty with 12. Gerty and Ariel Hatcher (Detroit, Mich.) paced the team in rebounds with seven apiece. Dewart led the Mountaineers with 19 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double.
Appalachian State out-rebounded CofC, 45-41 and had 10 less turnovers, 14-24. For the game, Charleston was 22-for-26 from the free throw line, while ASU was 11-for-19.
The Cougars are next in action at Western Carolina Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.
