The App State women’s basketball team fell to Old Dominion, 71-65, in a hard-fought road battle on Thursday.

Sophomore Emily Carver and freshman Chaé Harris were the Mountaineers’ top scorers, netting 14 points apiece. Harris drilled 4-of-7 crucial treys on the night. Carver matched freshman Alexis Black in rebounds, as both pulled down seven. Redshirt junior Janay Sanders contributed 13 points.

App State recorded a team free throw percentage of 89.5, sinking 17-of-19 from the line. The Mountaineers also scored 34 points off the bench and held ODU to five buckets beyond the arc.

Carver put the Black and Gold on the board with a trey in the first quarter. The Mountaineers battled back from an 11-3 deficit with a pair of 3-point buckets from Harris, a jumper from sophomore Zada Porter, and a trey from senior Taylor Lewis, cutting ODU’s lead to 15-14. Despite a late jumper from Sanders, ODU nailed a last-second jump shot to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Porter got to the hoop for a layup and nailed the free throw that followed, giving App State a 19-17 edge, but ODU was quick to erase the deficit. Black and Harris contributed layups to put App State up 23-22, but yet again, the Monarchs were quick to respond, jumping ahead 31-25 despite a late jump shot from Sanders.

The Mountaineers tailed 20 points in the third quarter, finding momentum from an early Carver trey. Harris nailed a trey of her own to put App State within four (39-35) and Black kept the Mountaineers within four (41-37) with a layup when ODU replied. As the Mountaineers closed in on the Monarchs’ lead, a pair of Carver free throws gave App State a 45-43 advantage. App State closed the period ahead 45-44 after a late ODU free throw.

Free throws were crucial for the Mountaineers in the final quarter, as 11 of its 20 points in the period were netted at the line. In the fourth quarter alone, the lead changed seven times and App State and Old Dominion tied the score five times. The game came down to the wire, as Old Dominion jumped ahead 65-60 with 54 seconds left in regulation. Sanders sunk a pair of free throws to put App State within three (65-62) with enough time for one more shot. With 17 seconds left on the clock, a bad pass from the Mountaineers and a foul sent Monarchs to the line, where they extended their lead to 68-62. With nine seconds remaining in regulation, Harris drained a 3-point bucket to bring App State back within three (68-65), but it wasn’t enough, as ODU sunk three free throws to claim a 71-65 victory.

The Mountaineers will head to Troy, Ala. to take on Troy at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.