RADFORD, Va. (Nov. 15, 2023) – The ETSU women's basketball team withstood a second half rally by Radford to upend the Highlanders by a score of 49-45 on Wednesday. With Wednesday's victory, the Buccaneers improve to 2-1 on the 2023-24 campaign.
ETSU was led on Wednesday by
Breanne Beatty. Beatty paced all scorers with 13 points to go with six rebounds.
Courtney Moore was the only other ETSU to finish in double figures with 11 points. Moore is the only Buccaneer to score in double digits in all three games this season.
Jakhyia Davis narrowly missed on her first double-double of the season with nine points and eight rebounds to round out the statistical leaders for the Bucs.
Neither team had much luck in finding the bottom of the in the net opening quarter. Beatty scored five points, while Moore sank a 3-pointer to account for all of ETSU's offense in the first 10 minutes. ETSU's defense, however, clamped down and held Radford to 1-of-11 shooting from the field in the first quarter to claim an 8-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
The offense began to click for both squads in the second. ETSU built its lead to as many as 13 points with 3:38 to go until halftime after a made free throw by Beatty. Radford did cut the Buccaneer lead back down to single digits heading into the locker room though as ETSU led 21-12.
Radford began its comeback attempt in earnest as the second half started. ETSU grew its lead back to 12 points (26-14) but the Highlanders attacked the Bucs down low. Radford outscored ETSU 10-4 in the paint and added five second-chance points as well to trail by six, 34-28, heading into the final quarter.
The Buccaneer lead continued to shrink as the fourth quarter wore on. A Radford 3-pointer got the Highlanders within one, 40-39, with 4:56 to go. Radford had three opportunities to get the lead for the first time in the game but the ETSU defense stopped them each time. The Buccaneers remained in the lead for the remainder of the game thanks in part to a clutch made shot from
Kendall Folley with 10.7 seconds to go in regulation and four key made free throws in the final minutes by
Nevaeh Brown. Brown's third and fourth makes from the free throw line came in the closing seconds to clinch the 49-45 win for the Bucs. Wednesday's victory is the first time that ETSU has won at Radford since 2002.
ETSU will face off against another Big South team on Sunday when they visit Presbyterian. Tip-off for that game is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
To purchase season or single game tickets for ETSU women's basketball, visit
ETSUTickets.com or call 423-439-3878.
For more information on Buccaneer women's basketball, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's basketball tab.
