Friday, February 06, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2009) - The Atlantic Sun's top two teams square off Saturday afternoon when the ETSU Lady Buccaneers host Florida Gulf Coast at 1:30 p.m. inside Memorial Center.

ETSU, who won its 13th straight home conference win Thursday night versus Stetson, hold a half-game lead for first place over the Eagles in the A-Sun standings.

The Lady Buccaneers bounced back in a big way against Stetson, as ETSU rolled past the Hatters, 92-63, inside Memorial Center. All nine Lady Buccaneer players who dressed reached the scoring column - including junior TaRonda Wiles' (Danville, Va.) 22-point, 10-rebound performance. Fellow junior Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) also had a huge night by pouring in 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals. The junior tandem also rank 1-2 in scoring in the A-Sun, with Wiles leading the way at 16.5ppg and Evans pitching in with 15.4 per game.

Saturday marks the first time the Eagles visit Memorial Center, and FGCU has been riding a hot streak since falling to the Lady Bucs (75-67) back on Jan. 8. Since that loss, FGCU has rattled off nine straight wins - including a 102-53 romp over USC Upstate on Thursday night. The 102 points marked a conference high this season, while six Eagle players scored in double figures. Kelsey Jacobson paced FGCU with 15 points, while freshman forward Kristina Mingos added 14 points and four steals.

Something has to give on Saturday, as FGCU leads the A-Sun in 3-point field goal shooting (38.0), but the Lady Bucs have the top 3-point field goal defense (27.5). The Eagles, who nailed 12 3-pointers on Thursday, have hit 205 treys this season (9.3 per game).

Reserved seat tickets for Lady Buccaneer Basketball games are $5 for adults and $3 for children 17 and under. ETSU students are admitted to games free of charge with a valid ETSU ID.

Tickets are available on game days at the center gate on the upper concourse, and can be purchased in advance by calling the ETSU Ticket Office at 423-439-3878 or online at ETSUBucs.com.  Tickets can also be picked up in person at the ETSU Ticket Office in the Memorial Center from 8:30-4:30 from Monday through Friday.

Fans unable to make the trip to Johnson City can view all the action live on ASun.TV. Live stats will also be available by clicking the link shown above.

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