Box Score CONWAY, S.C. – Senior forward Aja Blount scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Coastal Carolina, but her brilliant effort was in vain as Appalachian State staged a furious late rally and hit a last-second layup to steal a 70-68 win in a Sun Belt Conference game Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center.
 
Coastal led the entire way until the end. The Chanticleers led by 15 at 61-46 heading into the fourth quarter before the Mountaineers closed the quarter on a 12-1 over the final 5:50 with Janay Sanders hitting the winning bucket on a driving layup with 0:02 remaining.
 
Sanders and Alexia Allesch had 18 points each for Appalachian State, which improved to 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the league, with its second come-from-behind win over Coastal in four days. The Mountaineers rallied for a 66-61 win at home in Boone, N.C. on Wednesday.
 
Blount scored 20-or-more points for the eighth time this season and scored her team's only seven points in the final quarter, as Coastal slipped to 12-6 overall and 2-5 in the Sun Belt. The Chants also hurt their chances by going just 1-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 10 minutes.
 
Blount got things rolling for Coastal early, hitting eight points in a 10-0 run to start the game. She already had 10 points in the first quarter but didn't stop there. She added another eight points in the second quarter to pace the Chanticleers' to a 41-32 advantage at the half. App State's leading scorer on the year, Allesch, had 10 points in the half.
 
Coastal used a 10-2 run to close the third quarter to build its largest lead at 61-46. From there, Allesch and Sanders took over with six points apiece in the final 5:50, while Coastal's only score in that time frame was a free throw from Blount, who collected her fifth double-double of the season.
 
Coastal got an ironman effort from guard Blayre Shultz, who played all 40 minutes and had five assists and four points. As a team, Coastal had 16 assists on 26 baskets. Jordyn Newsome came off the bench to hit for seven points, while Angie Just-Jean and Janeen Camp had six points each. Camp also had six rebounds.
 
Coastal shot 26-of-51 from the field (51 percent), while Appalachian State shot just 22-of-60 (37 percent), but a strong 9-of-18 in the final quarter. As a team, Coastal had 16 assists on 26 baskets.
 
The Mountaineers held a slight 37-33 rebounding advantage, which marked the first time CCU lost the rebounding battle this season.
 
Coastal will be in action with three conference road games over the next two weeks - at Texas State (Feb. 5), at Georgia State (Feb. 10), and at Georgia Southern (Feb. 12), before returning home to host UT Arlington at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 19.
 
For complete coverage of CCU women's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.