Tuesday, March 02, 2010

ETSU, Stetson kick off General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Wednesday at noon

MACON, Ga. (March 2, 2010) - The Lady Bucs' quest for a third straight Atlantic Sun Tournament title begins on Wednesday afternoon when top-seeded ETSU takes on number eight seed Stetson in a quarterfinal match-up inside Mercer's University Center. Tip is set for noon.

The Lady Bucs wrapped up the regular season conference title with their 79-70 victory over Jacksonville on Saturday inside Veterans Memorial Arena. ETSU saw its 21-point lead dwindle to five in the final minute of the game, but solid free throw shooting down the stretch iced the game and gave the Lady Bucs the nine-point win. TaRonda Wiles (Danville, Va.) led the Lady Bucs with 19 points, while Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) ended with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

With that win, ETSU finished the regular season with its fourth straight 20-win season (20-8) and set a new record with 18 conference victories. The Lady Bucs also bring a seven-game winning streak into the conference tournament and have won 16 of their last 17 games overall.

As a team, ETSU brings a high-flying offensive attack into Macon, as the Lady Bucs rank 12th in the country in scoring (78.0), 22nd in free throw shooing (75.3), 37th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.9) and 47th in 3-point field goals per game (6.6).

Meanwhile, Stetson is coming off an 88-72 loss at USC Upstate on Saturday and has dropped six of its last seven games. The Hatters are led by junior guard Tierra Brown - who is averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 assists per game this season. As a team, Stetson is scoring 55.2 points per game, but allowing 67.2 a contest (-12.0 scoring margin).

The Lady Bucs lead the all-time series, 9-1, with the lone loss coming in 1995. ETSU knocked off Stetson by 19, 78-59, back on Jan. 14 in Johnson City, but the Lady Bucs had to hang on for a 57-55 win in DeLand on Feb. 6.

Fans unable to make the trip to Macon can listen to all the action live, as "Voice of the Lady Bucs" Don Helman will handle the play-by-play duties. Fans in Johnson City should tune into WKPT-AM (1590), WOPI-AM (1490) in Bristol, WKPT-AM (1400) in Kingsport. In addition, 94.3-FM in Kingsport, 97.9-FM in Bristol, and 97.7-FM in Johnson City will carry the game.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is also broadcasting all quarterfinal games free on ASun.TV and live stats will be available as well.

For A-Sun basketball tournament headquarters, visit www.AtlanticSun.org.

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