ASU dumps ETSU
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Appalachian State’s Francis Hernandez hit four 3-pointers against East Tennessee State Wednesday night. One of them even led to four points.

Hernandez converted a rare four-point play and then hit two foul shots to help Appalachian State beat East Tennessee State 73-70 at the Holmes Center.

Hernandez scored a career-high 21 points, but few were bigger than the four she scored with 2:17 left in the game. With Appalachian State trailing 65-64, she buried a 3-pointer from the corner of the court and was fouled by Michele DeVault.

Hernandez calmly went to the free throw line and hit the ensuing foul shot, giving the Mountaineers a 68-65 lead. East Tennessee State answered with two free throws, but Hernandez hit two more with 32.8 seconds left to keep Appalachian State in front 70-67.

The Mountaineers (3-13) got three more foul shots from another freshman, Robin Colbert, and managed to hang on for the victory.

“I was in the corner and the guard was coming out, so I had to knock it down,” Hernandez said of her four-pointer. “It’s one of my strengths and I didn’t want her to get in the way of that.”

East Tennessee State did its part by committing 31 turnovers. DeVault led the Bucs (6-10) with 14 points, while Jenny Norman scored 13 and Latisha Belcher added 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Brittany Mixon, Appalachian State’s 6-foot-3 center, scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked two shots in 32 minutes.

GiGi Thomas added 10 points, and Courtney Cunningham pulled down 11 rebounds, six on the offensive end in a game that had 11 lead changes and six ties.

“We’ll take it,” Mountaineers coach Adrian Shuler said. “A win’s a win. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.”

The win broke a six-game losing streak for the Mountaineers. They’ll return to action Saturday at UNC Greensboro.

ASU 73, ETSU 70
East Tennessee State (6-10)
Ajers 1-3 0-0 2, Belcher 4-9 4-4 12, Davis 1-3 0-0 3, DeVault 5-9 1-1 14, Wiles 3-10 1-17, Phillips 1-2 0-0 2, Treakle 0-1 0-0 0, Norman 5-8 3-4 13, Turman 3-6 0-0 6, Evans 3-10 2-2 9, Daniels 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 27-62 11-13 70.
Appalachian State (3-13)
Cunningham 3-7 1-2 7, Mixon 8-11 2-3 18, Colbert 0-2 3-4 3, Thomas 3-10 3-6 10, Tossie 4-10 0-0 8, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Ramierez 2-7 0-0 5, Hernandez 7-17 3-3 21, Lake 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 27-65 13-20 73.
Halftime score—ASU 35, ETSU 32. 3-point goals—ETSU 5-14 (DaVault 3-6, Davis 1-1, Evans 1-3, Phillips 0-1, Treakle 0-1, Turman 0-2), ASU 6-18 (Hernandez 4-9, Thomas 1-3, Ramierez 1-4, Colbert 0-1). Rebounds—ETSU 40 (Belcher 11), ASU 38 (Cunningham 11). Assists—ETSU 14 (Akers, Phillips 4), ASU 14 (Tossie 5). Turnovers—ETSU 31, ASU 24. Total fouls—ETSU 17, ASU 12. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—None. A—607.
Forfeits hurt Pioneers