Mocs hold

off App State
From staff reports

The Appalachian State women's basketball team flirted with an upset of the defending Southern Conference champion Chattanooga, but were unable to finish the game out and fell 68-55 Saturday at the Holmes Center.

Chattanooga (11-3, 3-0) led by as many as 15 before the break, at 31-16, and took a 36-23 advantage into the locker room. Appalachian State (2-11, 0-3) shot 40.9 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The Mountaineers were led by Brittany Mixon, who posted six points on 2-of-4 shooting. The Mocs found 15 first-half points off of offensive rebounds and also collected 10 steals.

Mixon posted a total of seven points, including 3-of-4 free throws, and five of the team's 34 rebounds in the contest. Mixon and Whitney Randolph led the team with seven rebounds and added six points and a block for the game.

Shortly after play resumed in the second half, Whitney Tossie scored six straight points to cut Appalachian State’s deficit to nine. At the 12-minute mark, GiGi Thomas connected on a pair of layups before Robin Colbert hit a jumper from the corner to pull ASU within 48-41.

Thomas then nailed a baseline jumper to bring the team within five. On the next possession, Frances Hernandez picked off a pass and took it the distance for a layup to bring the score to 48-45. With seven minutes to play, Hernandez sank a three to cut the lead to two points following three offensive rebounds. She pickd up her second steal of the game and Tossie put back a miss to tie the game at 52.