Wednesday, March 20
Appalachian State 57, UNC Asheville 55
With a 57-55 win over UNC Asheville (17-15) in the first round of the WBI, Appalachian State (19-14) garnered the program’s first postseason win since 2012 and the first-ever postseason tournament win for head coach Angel Elderkin. With three players in double figures, the Mountaineers survived a nail-biting contest that was tied in the last 1:20. Appalachian State will host Marshall in the second round on Monday, March 25.
Leaders
Appalachian State
Madi Story 18 points
Ashley Polacek 16 points, 6 rebounds
Pre Stanley 15 points, 4 rebounds
Bayley Plummer 13 rebounds
UNC Asheville
Sonora Dengokl 21 points, 4 rebounds
Nadiria Evans 10 points
Marshall 67, Davidson 64
Marshall (17-14) held off Davidson (17-15) in the fourth quarter to earn a 67-64 victory Wednesday night. With an 18-5 run in the third quarter, Davidson entered the last period just one point behind Marshall.
The game went down to the wire as the Thundering Herd only outscored the Wildcats 17-15 and had to fight off a late-game UTRGV rally to come out on top.
Leaders
Marshall
Taylor Pearson 11 points, 9 rebounds
Khadaijia Brooks 15 points, 4 rebounds
Taylor Porter 11 points
Shayna Gore 19 points
Davidson
Kianna Speight 14 points, 5 rebounds
Justine Lyon 11 points, 7 rebounds
Sarah Donovan 7 points, 15 rebounds
North Texas 56, UTRGV 42
North Texas (15-15) dominated UTRGV (18-14) for three quarters to pull out a 56-42 win for the program’s first-ever postseason win. Led by junior Anisha George, North Texas earned an early lead and led 31-24 at the half. The Mean Green won the rebounding battle, 36-30, and forced 22 turnovers.
North Texas is set to host Utah State in the second round on Tuesday, March 26.
Leaders
North Texas
Anisha George 19 points
Callie Owens 10 points, 6 rebounds
Madi Townley 10 rebounds
UTRGV
Megan Johnson 17 points
Madison Northcutt 10 points, 6 rebounds
Utah State 68, UC Riverside 60
In the last game of the evening, Utah State (17-15) tallied its first postseason victory since 2010-11 with a 68-60 road triumph over UC Riverside (17-16). Led by junior guard/forward Shannon Dufficy, the Aggies held off UCR in the second half after the game was tied as 2:20 in the third quarter.
Dufficy had a banner night extending the Utah State record in single-season double-doubles to 19 and tied the career record of 31. She finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Aggies travel to Texas to face North Texas in the second round.
Leaders
Utah State
Shannon Dufficy 20 points, 10 rebounds
Eliza West 12 points, 9 assists, 4 steals
UTRGV
Marina Ewodo 14 points, 5 rebounds
Daphne Gnago 11 points, 15 rebounds
