GREENVILLE, S.C. — Appalachian State got 42 points from its two front-court starters and beat host Furman 78-63 in Southern Conference women's basketball Saturday at Timmons Arena.

Freshman forward Maryah Sydnor, who was the SoCon's Player of the Week last week, scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. She also made all four of her foul shots and grabbed five rebounds for the first-place Mountaineers (15-3, 9-1 SoCon). Sydnor has put together three straight double-digit scoring in the past eight days.

It's not like Sydnor is scoring points against Southern Conference lightweights. Sydnor scored 20 points in a win over Samford and 16 in a victory over Chattanooga.

A veteran to scoring a high amount of points, junior forward Anna Freeman led the Mountaineers with 22 points, eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Freeman went 4-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Another Mountaineer, Courtney Freeman, scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Five of those boards were on the offensive end. Appalachian State enjoyed a 51-32 edge in rebounding over the Paladins.

Furman (11-9, 7-4) got 21 points and nine rebounds from Brittany Hodges. She made 9-of-13 from the field, but the rest of the Paladins struggled with their shooting. Furman shot 34.8 percent from the field, including a 1-for-12 performance from Raegan Thompson, who went 1-of-9 from 3-point range. Sarah Durdaller added 12 points and Trshia Griswold scored 10 for the Paladins.

Appalachian State has struggled with holding first-half leads into the second half, but was able to put the Paladins away after first taking a 35-24 lead with 2:36 left and by holding a 37-28 lead at halftime. Furman closed to 40-36 with 16:59 left in the game, but never got closer as Appalachian State went on an 11-2 run to take a 53-38 lead that the Paladins never recovered.

The Mountaineers took their largest lead with 8:45 left in the game when Courtney Freeman's layup gave them a 66-45 advantage. Furman chipped that lead down to 68-61 with 222 left, but the Mountaineers closed the game with a 10-2 run.

Appalachian State returns home Monday for a 6 p.m. game with rival Western Carolina.

 

 

 

Appalachian State 78, Furman 63

Appalachian State (15-3, 9-1)

Sydnor 8-10 4-4 20, A. Freeman 9-14 0-0 22, Taylor 1-1 0-0 2, Gary 0-2 2-4 2, C. Freeman 8-21 0-3 16, Sharkey 2-3 0-0 4, Weldon 1-4 1-2 3, Edwards 2-5 0-0 4, Mallow 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 2-4 1-1 5. Totals 33-65 8-14 78.

Furman (11-9, 7-4)

Thompson 1-12 0-0 3, Hodges 9-13 3-5 21, Booker 2-7 0-0 4, Murphy 2-11 2-3 7, Griswold 5-8 0-0 10, Roberts 0-3 1-2 1, Durdaller 3-6 5-6 12, Randolph 1-4 0-0 2, Peterson 0-1 2-2 2, Morrissey 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 23-66 14-22 63.

Halftime score—ASU 37, Furman 28. 3-point goals—ASU 4-7 (A. Freeman 4-6, Gary 0-1); Furman 3-17 (Durdaller 1-1, Murphy 1-5, Thompson 1-9, Booker 0-2). Rebounds—ASU 51 (C. Freeman 10), Furman 32 (Hodges 9). Assists—ASU 15 (A. Freeman, Sharkey 3), Furman 11 (Murphy 4). Turnovers—ASU 20, Furman 18. Total fouls—ASU 25, Furman 15. Fouled out—ASU, Weldon. Technical fouls—None. Att.—453.