Friday, February 01, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 1, 2008) - Help make history this Saturday afternoon when the ETSU women's basketball team hosts the Kennesaw State Lady Owls at 2 p.m. in the Atlantic Sun Game of the Week inside Memorial Center. The Lady Buccaneers are looking to break their all-time attendance mark of 1,117 fans, which was set last season versus Jacksonville, as they participate in the NCAA "Pack the House" promotion.

This season the NCAA has challenged all 32 women's basketball conferences to a "Pack the House" night, and the ETSU marketing department and Mountain States Health Alliance have teamed up to create the slogan "02-02 at 2: Two Teams, One Fight...Women against Heart Disease," which aligns with the Lady Buccaneer/Kennesaw State contest on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. inside Memorial Center.

The competition began Jan. 1 and runs through Feb. 17, and the object is to come up with a creative marketing plan and sellout or increase your previous year's single-game record attendance. The Lady Bucs have registered for the challenge and will look to sellout or break last season's mark of 1,117 fans when they play host to the Lady Owls.

Fans unable to attend the game can watch via the live video streaming accessed at ASun.TV or by clicking the link located above. 

For more information on Saturday's game see notes below or click on the game notes link above.

About Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State has had its up-and-downs so far this season and enters this current road trip in search of their second conference road win. However, for the Lady Owls they are currently rising as they have won a season-high three consecutive games and are coming off their first-ever victory over Belmont, 63-53, Monday night inside the Convocation Center.

The Lady Owls have been led by Greteya Kelley (12.8ppg) and Britteny Henderson (13.2ppg/7.9 rebounds). Kelley leads the A-Sun in steals, while Henderson is in the top five in rebounding and field goal percentage.

Turnovers plagued the Black and Gold in their first two years in the league and this season KSU has done a much better job taking care of the ball and are stifling teams with pressure defense. Coming into this weekend's game, the Lady Owls rank in the top three in the A-Sun in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio. A large reason for the turnaround has been the play of point guard Ashley Johnson, who is third in the conference in that category.

As a team, Kennesaw State ranks fifth in scoring (64.5) and fifth in scoring defense (63.3). The Lady Owls do an excellent job out-rebounding their opponents (+3.2 margin) and force 13.7 steals per game.

The Series

The Lady Owls are one of four teams in Atlantic Sun play that ETSU has a perfect mark against. The Lady Bucs are 4-0 lifetime against Kennesaw State after sweeping a pair of meetings in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Last season, KSU gave ETSU a scare in Georgia, 95-88, but the Lady Bucs outscored the Lady Owls by 17 (43-26) in the second half to knock them off inside Memorial Center, 78-60, last Feb. 23. Senior Michele DeVault is averaging 13.8ppg in the four contests vs. KSU; where as sophomore post Latisha Belcher posted her first career double-double (10pts/12reb) in her lone contest vs. the Lady Owls.

More About Monday's Win at JU...

The Lady Bucs' 80-74 victory over Jacksonville on Monday was ETSU's fourth consecutive win, marking its longest winning streak of the season ... the victory also snapped JU's 17-game home win streak, which was the second longest winning streak in the nation ... JU also had its program-record 10-game win streak come to an end as well ... senior Michele DeVault sank a career-high six threes as she opened the game a perfect 4-for-4 ... the win also put the Lady Bucs into a tie for first with the Dolphins, both at 6-1.

Where the Lady Bucs Rank In the A-Sun

The Lady Bucs rank first in six statistical categories among conference games only. ETSU leads the league in scoring offense (75.1), scoring margin (+15.0), three-point field goal percentage (.414), assists (17.3), steals (14.9), and turnover margin (+4.9).

Home Sweet Home

Despite being 5-3 at home this season, the Lady Bucs have enjoyed a home court advantage throughout the past couple years. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, ETSU has won 25 of its 33 (.758) games played in Johnson City. Also, the Lady Bucs have won 19 of their last 23 (.826) home conference games; however ETSU had its seven-game home winning streak against A-Sun schools snapped on Saturday. It marked the first time ETSU lost a conference home game since falling to Belmont, 78-69, on Jan. 6, 2007.  

Where's the Scoring coming from?

44 percent of the Lady Buccaneer 1,414 points scored this season has come inside the paint (606 points). However, only 18 percent of ETSU's points are coming from beyond the arc (258 points), leaving the remaining 40 percent of the scoring coming either at the free throw line (21 percent, 302 points) and the remaining 17 percent (248 points) of the scoring coming from longer jumpers.

Money in the Bank...

Should the Lady Bucs hold the lead with 5:00 left in the ball game and hold their opponent under 60 points, it is safe to say ETSU will win the contest. ETSU is 10-0 when leading after 35 minutes mark, and 5-0 when not allowing over 60 points.

A Look Ahead

Before embarking on yet another Florida road swing, the ETSU women's basketball team will host Mercer Monday evening at 7 p.m. inside Memorial Center.