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Women’s Basketball Falls Short at Virginia Tech, 71-68

Anna Freeman scored a career-high 36 points
Photo by Meghan Gay

Nov. 16, 2012. BLACKSBURG, Va. – Anna Freeman scored a career-high 36 points, but it was not enough as Appalachian State University women’s basketball fell to Virginia Tech by a 71-68 final on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum.

The Mountaineers (1-1) led by as many as eight points in the first half against the Hokies (1-1), but were unable to hang on in the second half as Virginia Tech snapped a 10-game losing streak.

Freeman, who shot 10-of-18 on the night and was 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, set the tone early when she connected on a three pointer for the first points of the game.

Virginia Tech would respond by grabbing a six-point lead (15-9) with just over 10 minutes left in the first half, but the Apps reeled off a 12-0 run to grab a 21-15 lead and force a Hokie timeout with 6:40 on the clock.

Appalachian extended its lead to eight points (28-20) when Courtney Freeman connected on a pair of free throws at the 2:32 mark and took a 31-28 lead into the break after Virginia Tech hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first period.

The Hokies came out of the locker room and immediately erased the lead, scoring 15 of the next 20 points to jump out to a 43-36 lead with just under 15 minutes left to play.

The Mountaineers would chip away at the lead and eventually reclaim the advantage, 66-65, with 2:51 remaining in the contest.

In a wild final minute of action, Virginia Tech would take the lead on a three-pointer before Kelsey Sharkey tied it with a layup with just 42 seconds left.

The Hokies regained the lead (70-68) with 19 ticks on the clock. Appalachian would have one final chance to tie, but a layup from Raven Gary just missed and Virginia Tech hit one final free throw to claim the 71-68 victory.

A. Freeman led all players in scoring while snagging eight rebounds and dishing out three assists. C. Freeman fell just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds while notching five assists in the night.

Virginia Tech was paced by Alyssa Fenyn’s 13 points while Monet Tellier (12), Taijah Campbell (11) and Porschia Hadley (10) all scored in double figures.

The Mountaineers shot 45.5 percent (20-of-44) from the floor including 8-of-18 from long range and 20-of-23 at the charity stripe. Virginia Tech shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) on the night and connected on 9-of-17 three-point shots. The Hokies finished with a 31-25 edge in rebounds.

Appalachian State returns to action when it plays host to Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Holmes Center.

GAME NOTES: A. Freeman’s 36 points were the most for a Mountaineer since Angela Crosby poured in 37 against East Carolina on March 3, 1993… she fell just one three-point basket shy of tying the school record for three-pointers in a single game… C. Freeman needs just 97 more points to become the 22nd player in school history with 1,000 career points… Appalachian State forced 10 or more turnovers for the 103rd-straight game.