Women’s hoops topples App State in OT

The Trojan women’s basketball team bounced back from a tough loss at South Alabama by defeating Appalachian State 100-89 in Boone, North Carolina.

Despite giving up a 22-point lead on Saturday, the Trojans (13-12, 8-8 Sun Belt) almost let the game slip away, but they regrouped in extra time to win.

In overtime, Troy dominated offensively, outscoring the Mountaineers 15-4 and outrebounding them 12-3 on its way to its sixth 100-point game this season.

In the first half, Troy held a large lead against the Mountaineers. The Trojans shot 51 percent from the floor in that half, helping generate their largest lead at 42-20 with 1:39 left in the second.

Troy held a 16-point lead going into the locker room, 44-28.

In the third and fourth quarters, Appalachian State fought hard, scouring 10-of-18 in the third and 11-of-17 in the fourth. After an 84-83 lead for Appalachian State, senior Trojan guard Ashley Beverly-Kelley hit a baseline jumper to take back the lead.

Then, Appalachian State’s junior guard Bria Carter was fouled on an offensive rebound. She made one of her two shots, sending the game into overtime, where Troy dominated the Mountaineers 15-4.

It was a high-scoring game for the Trojans, with Beverly-Kelley leading all scorers with 32 points and junior guard ArJae’ Saunders right behind her with 29. Beverly-Kelley set a number of records in the victory, including being the second in Troy’s history and 17th in the Sun Belt to earn a career point total of 1,825.

The game against Appalachian State was her 10th 30-point game in her career.

Junior forward Caitlyn Ramirez was third in double digits, scoring 14 points even though she fouled out with 5:57 left in the fourth quarter. This forced junior guard Ta’Kierra Gibbs and junior forward Kristen Emerson to play most of overtime.

Gibbs and Emerson were key players in overtime. Gibbs hit five straight points, and Emerson grabbed seven of her 12 rebounds in the game.

The Trojans will return to the court on Thursday, Feb. 25, against UL-Lafayette at the Trojan Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.