Published: 12:22 AM, 11/06/2009

Last updated: 12:52 PM, 11/17/2009

By: Steve Behr Sports Editor

By Steve Behr
sport@wataugademocrat.com
The 10-minute scrimmage Appalachian State's women's basketball held at the Mountaineers Madness resembled the NBA All-Star Game.
Just play token defense, if even that, and let the scoring begin. The black team went on to win 33-21 with few shots being contested.
Then again, head coach Darcie Vincent had just put the team through a 2½ hour workout before the event, so taking a little breather was probably a good idea.
"I think they're a little burned out from defense since we've worked on it for so long, but yes, these things are just out there," Vincent, who is in her second season at ASU, said. "You've either got to make a choice. You can put the ball in the basket and let everybody know that there is a possibility of that because last year I don't know if anybody thought we could score five baskets, or you get out and get after it. The kids were tired - we actually practiced 21/2 hours before that, so we told them to go out and have fun and let each other do what they want to do."
The Mountaineers, coming off a 9-22 season, begin facing somebody other then themselves Sunday by hosting Lees-McRae at the Holmes Center. The scrimmage begins at 1 p.m.
Lees-McRae plays in the Division II Conference Carolina. The Bobcats were 6-17 last year under coach Sebastian Wild.
The game itself does not count in the overall standings. But it will be the first time that four Appalachian State freshmen take the court as college players. ASU has six other players who are sophomores, though Chakeitha Weldon is a redshirt sophomore. An Atlanta native, she had to sit out last season after transferring from Kansas. Weldon played 10 games as a freshman at Kansas before injuring her knee, which put her out for that season.
Appalachian State has just one senior, center, Katrina Mill. Guard Sam Ramirez is the only junior, and the Mountaineers' leading scorer from last year, 6-foot-4 center Brittany Mixon, graduated.
"It's absolutely huge for us to come out and play well with 10 freshman and sophomores out of 12 players," Vincent said. "You're putting them on the floor and they're going to be in uniform for the first time. We should have a big crowd here because it's family weekend, so we'll have people to play in front of."
Vincent said it was also a final tune-up for the beginning of the season, which is Nov. 13 at Marshall. The Mountaineers return for their home opener Nov. 20 to host Charlotte. It's the only game out of five the Mountaineers will play in Boone during the month of November.
"You only have six more days to get ready," Vincent said. "It's the final test and it's a chance to correct the little things, so to speak. I'm just excited. I think we have to make a statement. We have to be better than we were last year."
The Mountaineers met the public, mostly students, at Mountaineers Madness Thursday night. Before the crowd was let into the Holmes Center, those who participated in Basketball 101 were on the court testing their hoops skills against each other.
Those who participated were also introduced to the crowd at the start of the Madness event. A student won a trip to the Southern Conference in Charlotte by winning a musical chairs-scavenger hunt-style competition, and two dance teams and the ASU cheerleaders entertained the crowd.