Thursday, December 04, 2008

MACON, Ga. (Dec. 4, 2008) - Last season the ETSU women's basketball team claimed both the Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament championships for the first time in program history, and on Friday night the Lady Bucs will begin their quest for a second straight conference crown when they face Mercer inside the University Center. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Lady Bucs are off to a slow 1-4 start through their first five games, but facing a conference foe could be just what ETSU needs to bounce back into the win column.

Since joining the league in 2006-07, the Lady Bucs have averaged 14 A-Sun wins, as well as going 16-1 in their last games 17 games against conference foes. In addition, ETSU have won eight of its last nine road games versus league opponents.

Despite being dealt a 20-point loss Monday night at Georgia, both junior post players Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) and Devin Thompson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) performed well against the SEC power. Thompson scored a game and season high 15 points, while Belcher finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

In her last four games, Belcher is averaging 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals in 29.8 minutes of play, and the 2008 Atlantic Sun Tournament MVP has caused problems for Mercer in three career games. Belcher finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight steals against the Bears in the quarterfinals of the 2008 A-Sun Tournament, and is posting 11.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 steals all-time versus Mercer.  

The Bears have won four of their first six games to start the season, including a 79-75 victory over USC Upstate Wednesday night in the A-Sun opener. Mercer shot 54.7 percent (29-53) against the Spartans and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Four Bear players scored in double figures, with junior guard LaToya Jackson leading the way with 19 points. Jackson is the team's second leading scorer on the season (15.2), while senior Dominique Chism is averaging a team-best 17.5 points.

ETSU leads the all-time series over the Bears, 7-4, and have gone 5-2 against Mercer since being conference rivals.

Fans unable to make the trip to Macon can view the game live courtesy of A-Sun.TV by visiting, https://asun.neulion.com/asc/console.jsp. Also, live stats will be offered by clicking on the link above.

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