Friday, January 09, 2009

DeLAND, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2009) - Since opening the season with a disappointing 1-5 mark, the ETSU women's basketball team have quickly made a surge by winning five of its last six games - including three straight. On Saturday night the Lady Bucs look to remain red hot when they take on Stetson. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. inside the Edmunds Center.

ETSU is coming off an impressive 75-67 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night. The Lady Bucs enjoyed a solid second half, where they shot 56 percent from the floor and outscored the Eagles, 42-30. Junior Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) led the team with her 18-point effort, while Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) moved a little closer to becoming the 16^th player in Lady Buccaneer history to join the 1,000-point club. Evans netted 15 points and sits only 11 points away from joining the prestigious club. The victory over FGCU also marked a special milestone, as head coach Karen Kemp notched her 200^th career win.

Stetson has lost three of its last four and is coming off a heartbreaking 57-54 loss to USC Upstate on Thursday night. Sharnesha Smith poured in a game-high 18 points and Jessica Conner posted a double-double (10 points/13 rebounds), but the Hatters couldn't stop the outside shooting from the Spartans. Upstate hit eight 3-pointers, compared to only two from Stetson, and with the Hatters trailing by one with less than 10 seconds to go poor free throw shooting set in. Ashli Jackson missed a pair of freebies with seven seconds remaining and Upstate's Courtney Bradley made it a three-point win after hitting two free throws with five seconds on the clock. Stetson couldn't get off a final shot to tie the game.

Smith leads the Hatters in scoring (11.5) and assists (4.9), while Conner is the leading rebounder at 7.1 per game. Stetson is averaging 60.9 points per game, but allowing its opponents to score 68.2 (-7.3 scoring margin); however, the Hatters have enjoyed their home court advantage - going 3-1 inside the Edmunds Center.

The Lady Bucs lead the all-time series (5-1) and have won all five meetings since joining the A-Sun in 2005-06. ETSU knocked off the Hatters, 73-62, in the lone meeting last season inside the Edmunds Center.

Fans unable to make the trip to the Sunshine State can view all the action online through ASun.TV. Live stats will also be available by clicking the link above.

For more information on Lady Buccaneer basketball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.