Too big to overcome
Down key player, ASU women can’t handle opponent’s 6-4 post.
NEW ORLEANS — The Arkansas State University women’s basketball team lost 79-68 to Appalachian State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Lakefront Arena.
Arkansas State (15-15) entered its game against Appalachian State (8-22) without junior Akasha Westbrook (10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds per game), who broke her toe during the first quarter of Saturday’s victory at Louisiana-Monroe.
Without the 5-10 Westbrook, Appalachian State commanded the low post and outrebounded Arkansas State 50-32, which produced 17 second-chance points from the Mountaineers.
Appalachian State sophomore center Bayley Plummer had 18 points and 19 rebounds, which were three rebounds shy of the single-game Sun Belt Tournament record. Her block in the closing minutes led to a layup that gave the Mountaineers a 73-65 lead with 1:31 left.
Arkansas State trailed 6665 with 4:13 left, but Appalachian State finished the game with a 13-3 run that was built on six free throws.
Appalachian State freshman guard LaPresha Stanley had a game-high 27 points.
The Red Wolves will not advance to either the WNIT or NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
“We’ve had a good run, going up to last year, that even if the tournament would end, we still had basketball ahead of us,” Arkansas State Coach Brian Boyer said. “That’s where I think this is tough. It’s final. There is no regroup. There is no ‘What’s next?’ It’s final.”
The loss of Westbrook altered the game plan for Appalachian State, Mountaineers Coach Angel Elderkin said: Play a 2-3 zone defense and use Plummer’s 6-4 frame to produce a decisive swing in rebounding.
“When we beat them at our place, one of the things we intentionally tried to do was get Plummer to the perimeter,” Boyer said. “Once they go 2-3 zone, you can’t get her to the perimeter. So, I don’t know how many looks we had in the paint where we just couldn’t finish with her there. We just couldn’t get her away from the basket.”
The Red Wolves fell behind when their attempt to attack Appalachian State near the basket failed.
Freshman guard Morgan Wallace and sophomore forward Madison Heckert both missed shots from the block at the start of the second period, and then an entry pass from sophomore guard Payton Tennison sailed out of bounds.
Appalachian State followed with a 6-0 run, capped by a Plummer layup that gave the Mountaineers a 25-22 lead with 5:18 left in the second.
The Arkansas State offense didn’t recover before halftime, as it went 7-of-20 (35 percent) shooting during the second quarter and closed the half 1 of 7 from the floor. The Red Wolves trailed 38-29 at the half.
The Red Wolves closed the margin by instead attacking the outside during the second half.
Heckert’s steal led to a three-pointer by sophomore guard Starr Taylor; freshman forward Lycia Peevy made another three from the top of the key; and after Wallace tied up a defender for a jump ball, Tennison made a deep three from the top of the key to bring the Red Wolves within 44-42 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
Arkansas State finished the game 9 of 25 (36 percent) from three-point range, and Tennison scored a team-high 16 points and was 4 of 9 from three-point range.
“I didn’t think they were going to hit us with that many,” Elderkin said. “We couldn’t let [Tennison] get loose. She was on fire.”
Tennison’s three-pointer with 1:05 left in the third quarter completed a 19-4 run and gave Arkansas State a 55-48 lead.
Appalachian State followed with an 8-0 run, but Tennison made another three from the left wing to pull within 66-65 with four minutes to go.
That was as close as Arkansas State would come.
Appalachian State will play the top-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.