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ASU Women’s Hoops Throttles ETU

Michelle Taylor and the Mountaineers took down East Tennessee State on Tuesday night. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information
Michelle Taylor and the Mountaineers took down East Tennessee State on Tuesday night. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

Dec. 19, 2012. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Anna Freeman became the fourth all-time leading scorer in Appalachian State University women’s basketball history (1,505). She tallied 13 points in Tuesday’s 85-57 victory over former conference foe East Tennessee State University.

For the fourth straight time, Appalachian State (7-1, 1-0 SoCon) picked up a win against East Tennessee State, (2-4, 0-0) trouncing the Buccaneers and totaling its winning streak to six. 

Maryah Sydnor marked Appalachian’s first points with a layup, and the Mountaineers maintained control from there, as the lead changed just twice in the contest. App entered an early nine point run (24-11) at 12:31 in the first half, but ETSU rallied with a quick four point burst late in the half with 3:33 remaining, trimming the Mountaineer lead to just three points (34-31). A pair of free-throws from ETSU’s Shawn Randall brought the Bucs within two (38-36), before Katie Mallow dropped a pair of shots at the line to send App into halftime with a 40-36 advantage. 

Sydnor paced the Black and Gold throughout the game and led the Mountaineers in scoring, contributing 23 points on the night; thirteen of those points came in the first half. Sydnor was one of four Mountaineers to record double-figures. 

Tiana Burley, who lead the Bucs in scoring with 19 points, threw a layup at 12:59, giving the Buccaneers their only lead (50-49), before Appalachian increased the margin; leading by as much as 30 points in the second half of the contest. Courtney Freeman was once again an offensive standout, recording a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds; ten of which came on defense. Katie Mallow added 16 points of her own, and shot 3-3 from the line. 

Despite a strong effort, the three-time defending Atlantic Sun champions were unable to climb back in the game, resulting in a 85-57 final for Appalachian State.

GAME NOTES: For the fifth time this season, ASU’s offense went to work scoring 70+ points, while the Mountaineers’ defense produced a strong effort limiting ETSU to just 57 points. The defense also held the Bucs to a meager 34.9 percent shooting percentage from the field and out-rebounded the A-Sun foe 47-34. The ETSU contest marks the 109th straight game that Applachian has forced 20+ turnovers. The Mountaineers shot 46.3 percent from the field, and an impressive 94.7 percent from the charity stripe. They recorded 38 points off of turnovers, and tallied 21 second-chance points. 

Next up, the Black and Gold travel to Morgantown to face West Virginia on December 28.