Sunday, December 20, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 20, 2009) - After suffering a heartbreaking five-point loss at Appalachian State last Thursday evening, the ETSU women's basketball team looks to regroup and get back on track when the Lady Bucs host Jacksonville on Monday afternoon. Tip is set for 4:45 p.m. inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

Despite having a nine-point second-half lead against the Mountaineers, the Lady Bucs couldn't hold on and fell, 92-87, to their former SoCon rival. Senior TaRonda Wiles (Danville, Va.) led the way with a season high 27 points and 10 rebounds, marking her second consecutive double-double. Freshman Iesha Robinson (Martinsburg, W. Va.) - who filled in for the injured Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) - stepped up in a big way. Robinson poured in a career high 19 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in 39 minutes. Evans' status on Monday evening will be a game time decision after sitting out Thursday night with a sore knee.

Facing the Jacksonville Dolphins could be the best remedy for the Lady Bucs to bounce back into the win column. These two teams know each other quite well, as they both faced off in the last two Atlantic Sun Championship games. However, ETSU won both championship titles to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the Lady Bucs have won nine of the ten meetings in the series - including all three in Johnson City.

Jacksonville - who was picked fourth in both conference preseason polls - has struggled in the early season, as the Dolphins have lost seven of their first eight games. The Dolphins are coming off a 74-63 loss at Campbell on Saturday afternoon in Buies Creek, N.C. Jacksonville's lone win was a 77-53 victory over Florida Tech back on Nov. 20.

The Dolphins have lost all six road games this year.

Jacksonville is led by preseason all-conference selection Courtney Jackson. Jackson leads the team in scoring (9.0); while Desarae Johnson has also stepped up for the Dolphins. Johnson is averaging 8.4 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per contest.

Fans unable to make the trip to Johnson City can view all the action live through A-Sun.TV. To access live video streaming, visit https://asun.neulion.com/asc/console.jsp or click on the link above. To view live stats, visit www.ETSUBucs.com or click the above link.

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