Published: 8:55 PM, 02/03/2010

Last updated: 9:10 PM, 02/03/2010

By: staff reports

From staff reports
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Things did not look so good for Appalachian State's women's basketball after the Mountaineers trailed by four points with under three minutes left in the game.
However, the visiting Mountaineers staged a late rally and beat Furman 58-53 Monday at Timmons Arena.
Sam Ramirez sparked the Mountaineers (12-9, 8-4 SoCon) with a 3-point basket to pull Appalachian to within 53-52. Kelsey Sharkey followed with a steal and basket to put the Mountaineers in front 54-53, giving Appalachian a lead it would not lose.
Ramirez and Anna Freeman clinched the win by each making a pair of foul shots down the stretch. Freeman added a blocked shot with 9.4 seconds left to help preserve the win.
The win is the Mountaineers' fifth straight and pulls them into a tie with Davidson for fourth place in the SoCon Standings. Appalachian State swept Davidson earlier this season.
Furman droped to 6-17 on the season and 4-1 in the SoCon.
Ramirez had yet another solid offensive outing as she finished tied with Furman's Lee Stephens for a game-high 16 points, to go along with six boards.
Freshman Ashlen Dewart, a Spartanburg, S.C. native and former standout at Dorman High, got Appalachian off to a strong start in the first half, drilling the Mountaineers' first five points, but Stephens answered for the Paladins with two treys of her own just three and a half minutes into the contest.
The first half was tied five more times, before a 4-0 Appalachian streak to close out the period, with buckets by Courtney Freeman and Catherine Williams earned ASU a 26-24 lead heading into intermission.
After holding what seemed to be a strong eight point cushion at 38-30 with just under fifteen minutes on the clock, the Paladins went on a run of their own, scoring 10 unanswered points with Kali Holfreter pacing Furman during the streak with five points to earn the Paladins a two-point lead.
However, Appalachian rallied and managed to stay undefeated against SoCon teams on the road.
ASU plays at Elon for a showdown Saturday at 2 p.m.
Notes: The eight SoCon wins surpasses the total number of conference wins from a season ago ... the 12 wins are the most in a season for the Mountaineers since the 2006-07 campaign (13-18) ... the five game winning streak is the longest since 2005-06 ... the win over Furman is ASU's first over the Paladins since March 5, 2009.

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