After a disappointing blowout loss in Chattanooga, in which Maryah Sydnor was only 3 for 10 in 22 minutes of play, the RPI # 242 Lady Apps (9-13, 6-6 SoCon) are in Birmingham, AL tonight for a game with RPI # 298 Samford (7-16, 5-7 SoCon).

The Apps are alone in fifth place in the conference race, while Samford is locked in a three-way tie with Western Carolina and GaSouth for sixth place.

This is a game between two "has-beens" struggling to become relevant again.

All is not lost...

• M.Sydnor's continues to lead the conference with 19.9 points per game.
• K.Cooper leads the league in blocked shots with 1.9 per game.
• AppState has led the conference all season in rebounding margin (+5.8) and steals (9.3).

Samford on the other hand...

• Ranks second in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to 60.1 ppg.
• The Bulldogs are third in the SoCon in field goal percentage with a mark of 39.5 this season.
• Samford leads the league in three-pointers made this season with an average of 6.0 per game.

That last item--three point shooting--will be the key tonight. The Apps will have shoot better than they did in the River City and they'll have to hold Samford in check to get this win on the road.

The Apps shot extremely poorly in tonight's game--as they have pretty much throughout the season--and it cost them a 55-47 loss to Samford. 12.5 percent shooting from behind the arc will do that to you.

KeKe Cooper and Maryah Sydnor had their typical double-doubles, but they didn't get enough help from their teammates.

Rumor has it that Darcy has help on the way--but it won't help this season.

Shooting has been a problem all year, especially from behind the arc. This is a tough, aggressive team but as a group they have a hard time throwing it in the ocean. Sometimes you need more than athleticism to win.

asu66 wrote:The Apps shot extremely poorly in tonight's game--as they have pretty much throughout the season--and it cost them a 55-47 loss to Samford. 12.5 percent shooting from behind the arc will do that to you.

KeKe Cooper and Maryah Sydnor had their typical double-doubles, but they didn't get enough help from their teammates.

Rumor has it that Darcy has help on the way--but it won't help this season.

Maybe this young lady factors into that "rumor":
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/sports/art ... f6878.html

Appsolutley wrote:

asu66 wrote:The Apps shot extremely poorly in tonight's game--as they have pretty much throughout the season--and it cost them a 55-47 loss to Samford. 12.5 percent shooting from behind the arc will do that to you.

KeKe Cooper and Maryah Sydnor had their typical double-doubles, but they didn't get enough help from their teammates.

Rumor has it that Darcy has help on the way--but it won't help this season.

Maybe this young lady factors into that "rumor":
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/sports/art ... f6878.html

Looks like she could be a nice compliment to Maryah Sydnor. This is such a young squad and good recruiting year could see this team reloading for the future.

I'll add this from an earlier story in the HDR. Seems only yesterday that Madi's Mom (Mitzi Yount) and her coach (Beth Laney) were tearing it up in VG for the ASU Women. Oh, my how time does fly.

>>> Basketball: By signing with Appalachian State, Story is headed to play where her mom, Mitzi (Yount) Story, and one of her coaches, Beth (Laney) Queen, each played college basketball. She announced last season she would join the Mountaineers then had another big season that earned her N.C. Associated Press all-state honors for the second straight year.

Madi Story (6-foot) averaged 18 points per game as a junior and averages 17.7 as a career 53-percent shooter on teams that have won 82 of 92 games. She is 112 points away from surpassing the career points of her mom – who was the state’s Ms. Basketball in 1987-88 playing for Bandys – and needs 502 points to pass Beverly Greenard and become the leading girls’ scorer in Bandys history.

This team needs guards who can score. Simple as that.