MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team caps its season-opening homestand on Sunday, Nov. 20, as it gets set to welcome Appalachian State inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
Tipoff against the Mountaineers is set for 1 p.m. ET, with gates opening at 12 p.m. Sunday's contest against App State will be broadcast live on the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WSZT-FM, with Andrew Caridi and John Antonik on the call. Fans also can listen to the game on the Varsity Network App.
Additionally, Sunday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now, with Eric Little and Warren Baker on the call. Live stats and game notes will be available on WVUsports.com.
Tickets for Sunday's contest can be purchased at WVUGAME.com or by visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located inside the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. Sunday's Mountaineers vs. Mountaineers matchup is WVU's 'Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer' game. In partnership with the Go 4 the Goal Foundation and WVU Medicine Children's, West Virginia will wear gold shoelaces for the contest. Additionally, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a gold rally towel.
West Virginia and Appalachian State meet for the second time on Sunday. WVU is 1-0 all-time against App State, with its lone victory coming in Morgantown. West Virginia defeated Appalachian State, 72-67, on Dec. 28, 2012, in the first meeting between the two teams.
Additionally, West Virginia is 3-1 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference, including 1-0 against Appalachian State.
Appalachian State comes into Sunday's contest with a record of 1-3. App State dropped its first two contests of the season to Charlotte (98-94) and Eastern Kentucky (95-63), before picking up its lone win of the season against Lees-McRae (67-33).
Last time out, ASU lost to Norfolk State, 70-65, on Nov. 17, at the Holmes Center in Boone, North Carolina.
Appalachian State features four players who are averaging double digits in scoring, including Janay Sanders, who is scoring 16.8 points per game. Lauren Carter is scoring 12.8 points per game, the second-best mark on the team, and is averaging a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. Carter also holds the team lead in blocked shots, with six.
Appalachian State is led by ninth-year coach Angel Elderkin, who owns a career record of 107-138.
West Virginia is coming off a 70-48 win over Winthrop on Nov. 17, in Morgantown. The Mountaineers offense was paced by fifth-year senior guard
Madisen Smith, who tallied a game-high 15 points. Junior forward
Kylee Blacksten led WVU in rebounding, with six.
West Virginia has forced 71 turnovers over the first two games of the season and is averaging 35.5 turnovers forced per game, good for No. 1 in the country. Additionally, the Mountaineers hold a +24 turnover margin on the year, which also ranks No. 1 nationally.
Of note, WVU has cashed in 82 points off its 71 turnovers forced this season, good for an average of 1.2 points per turnover forced. Those 82 points also have accounted for 54.3% of the Mountaineers' offense this year.
West Virginia also has limited its opposition to 39.5 points per game this season, good for No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 3 in the nation.
