Sunday, November 20, 2011

BOONE, N.C. (Nov. 20, 2011) – Fresh off their 2,454 mile roundtrip excursion to Lake Charles, La., the Lady Bucs will hit the road once again as the ETSU women’s basketball team travels to Boone for a non-conference battle with former SoCon rival Appalachian State on Monday night. Tip is set for 6 p.m. inside the Holmes Convocation Center.

The Lady Bucs, who were forced to bus to Nashville to fly to Houston then bus to Louisiana, had a rough trip at McNeese State as the Blue and Gold fell to UAB and Manhattan this past weekend.

ETSU (0-3) is off to a winless start through three games since the beginning of the 2008-09 season; however, that club ended up going 20-11 overall and went to the NCAA Tournament.

Part of the reason for the bumpy start is lack of offensive output as the Lady Bucs are averaging only 58.7 points per game along with turning the ball over 23.3 times per contest. Sophomore Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) is one of two ETSU players to be averaging double figures in scoring as she leads the club with 11.0 points per contest. Meanwhile, freshman guard Brianna Bogard (Georgetown, Texas) is looking to carry her positive performance into Monday’s game. Bogard scored a team-high 17 points in the Lady Bucs’ 86-53 setback to Manhattan on Saturday afternoon.

Appalachian State (1-1) has split its first two games of the young season after defeating Gardner-Webb, 69-41, on Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers opened the season with an 80-48 loss to Virginia back on Nov. 11 in Charlottesville.  

The Mountaineers are currently ranked 20th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and were picked to finish second behind Chattanooga in the preseason coaches poll. Appalachian State returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from last season’s team that won the SoCon regular season championship and played in the WNIT. Anna Freeman, one of the returning starters, is currently averaging a double-double through two games this season (16 points/10 rebounds). As a team, the Mountaineers are averaging 58.5 points and forcing the opposition into 20 turnovers.

Appalachian State has won the last two games in the series and leads the all-time series, 37-32. The Lady Bucs have lost the last four meetings in Boone and are searching for their first win at Appalachian State since defeating the Mountaineers, 74-69, back on Feb. 14, 2004.

Fans unable to make the trip can listen to all the action on WXSM-AM 640 The Extreme Sports Monster as “Voice of the Lady Bucs” John Stevens handles the play-by-play duties. Live video and live stats will also be available through GoASU.com

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