By David Rogers. January 30, 2012. BOONE -- With a new defensive scheme that produced 19 steals and caused 29 Catamount turnovers, Appalachian State overcame a cold-shooting, almost listless offensive performance to secure a fifth straight win and stay atop the Southern Conference in women's basketball, beating the Catamounts, 58-39, in front of 311 at the Holmes Center.

Freshman Maryah Sydnor and junior Anna Freeman, both starting forwards, led the Mountaineers with 11 and 16 points respectively.  Sydnor, who has quietly slipped into an on-court leadership role, tied with guard Courtney Freeman for game-high rebounding honors, with six apiece.  By game's end, the hustling, pressing Appalachian squad held a 38-29 rebounding advantage over Western, including a whopping 16 offensive boards.

Quipped AppState head coach Darcie Vincent after the game, "I think we are leading the league in offensive rebounds.  The sad thing about that? It means our first shots are clanking (missing) and we need an offensive rebound to keep possession."

While the Mountaineers shot 40% (12-30) from the field in the first half on Monday night, they were just 7-25 (28%) in the second half and a dismal 19-55 (34.5%) for the game.  They were just 2 for 13 from behind the three-point arc, including 0-6 in the second half.

"We won this game with defense and fitness," Vincent noted to Blowing Rock News later. Added A. Freeman, "If we had played this badly against teams like Chattanooga, Davidson or Samford, just about anybody else, we would have lost."

Western Carolina stayed within reach -- or rather, Appalachian's largely inept play kept Western Carolina within reach -- for almost all of the first half.  When the Catamounts' 6-1 reserve guard/forward Makesaey Campbell nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key with just 1:04 remaining in the first half, WCU pulled to within one point of the lead, 26-25. With just 53 seconds remaining, App's reserve forward Kelsey Sharkey nailed a short jumper, then following a Catamount turnover and foul, the Mountaineers' starting point guard, Michelle Taylor, made one of two free throws to expand the home team's halftime lead to four points, 29-25.

During the second half, Appalachian's shooting "eye" got even more unsteady, but they made up for it with a pressing, pesky defense and uptempo game in transition that sucked any wind out of Western Carolina's sails. The obvious difference in fitness was telling for the Catamounts, who slowly let the game slip away from them.

With 12:29 remaining in the game, Western trailed Appalachian State by seven points, 38-31, but the Mountaineers went on an 18-5 run that left the visitors panting and down by 20.

Looking ahead, the Lady Mountaineers travel to Statesboro, GA to risk their five-game winning streak against the Eagles of Georgia Southern on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 5 pm, then head to the coast to play College of Charleston on Monday, Feb. 6 (7 pm), before returning to host three straight: Wofford (6:00 pm, Feb. 8), UNC Greensboro (4:30 pm, Feb. 11) and Elon (6:00 pm, Feb. 13).  Then the Mountaineers start a tough four-game stretch to end the regular season with games against the 2nd (Chattanooga), 3rd (Davidson), 4th (Samford), and 5th (Furman) place teams (as of Jan. 30).

Miscellaneous Notes

• Appalachian improved to 53-11 when Anna Freeman scores 10 or more points
• Sydnor extended her consecutive free throws streak to 19
• Appalachian State had a 22-10 advantage in points scored inside; scored 26 points off of turnovers compared to just 10 by WCU; added six points on fast breaks (none for Western); and held a 15-9 edge in second chance points
• ASU improved to 29-8 at home over the past three seasons
• Appalachian defeated Western Carolina for the 6th straight time in the regular season

Western Carolina 39

Appalachian State 58

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