LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2023) – Fresh off a historic 2022-23 season, the ETSU women's basketball team will open the 2023-24 campaign on Tuesday when it visits Kentucky. The game, which will be played at the Clive M. Beck Center on the campus of Transylvania University, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off on SEC Network Plus.
  
GAME INFO
DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 7
TIME: 7 p.m. 
LOCATION: Clive M. Beck Center (Lexington, Ky.)
TEAMS: ETSU at Kentucky
LIVE VIDEO: SEC Network Plus (Maggie Davis & Christi Thomas)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TWITTER: @ETSU_WBB
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• The Buccaneers were picked to finish first by the league coaches and second by media members when the SoCon announced the annual preseason polls late last month. It marks the first time that the Bucs have been tabbed the preseason favorite since 2018.
• ETSU Head Women's Basketball Coach Brenda Mock Brown was named to the inaugural watch list for the 2024 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. In her first season leading the Buccaneers, Coach Mock guided ETSU to new heights as the Blue & Gold won a school-record 25 games en route to posting the largest turnaround in NCAA Division I basketball in 2023-24.
• Nevaeh Brown and Kendall Folley earned Preseason All-Southern Conference honors at the media day event last month. The last time that two Bucs landed Preseason All-SoCon honors was in 2016 (Shamauria Bridges & Tianna Tarter).
• Brown played in 33 games with 22 starts in her first season as a Buccaneer in 2022-23. She ranked third on the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game. She also finished second on the squad in assists (77), free throws made (60), field goals made (134) and steals (39). Brown averaged 31.8 minutes per game, tied for the team lead with Folley.
• Folley had a stellar debut season in the Blue & Gold, earning consensus All-SoCon Second Team honors and a spot on the All-SoCon Defensive Team. Folley ranked 14^th in the conference averaging 11.1 points per game. In SoCon play, she upped her production to 14.3 points per contest that ranked ninth in the league. The Buccaneer guard paced the Bucs in steals with 44. She also earned a pair of SoCon Player of the Week honors in 2022-23.
• In addition to breaking the school record for overall wins last season (25), the Bucs also broke the program record for the most wins outside of conference play with 13.
• ETSU fielded one of the youngest teams in the nation last season with 12 underclassmen on a 14-player roster. Only Jiselle Thomas, who recently signed a professional contract to play in Ireland, graduated from the team this offseason.
• The 2022-23 season was the first winning season for ETSU women's basketball since the 2017-18 campaign when they finished 20-13.
• ETSU also finished third at last season's Women's Basketball Invitational where it picked up victories over FIU and Georgia Southern.
• Perhaps ETSU's biggest win of the season came on December 1 against Vanderbilt — a gritty 44-31 win at home. The win marked ETSU's first Power 5 victory since 2019 (Wake Forest), first win over an SEC opponent since 2008 (Kentucky) and the first win over Vanderbilt since 1981. ETSU also became one of three mid-major teams to hold an SEC team below 35 points since the 2009-10 season.
• This will mark the third time that the Bucs have opened a season vs. a Power 5 opponent since 2007. ETSU opened last season at South Carolina.

ABOUT KENTUCKY

• Kentucky compiled a record of 12-19 last season. The Wildcats finished 14^th in the SEC standings with a 2-14 record but pulled off a pair of upsets against Florida and Alabama to become the lowest seed to ever reach the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
• The 2023-24 season will be the 50^th in the history of Kentucky's women's basketball program. The Wildcats have won over 63 percent of their games in their history.
• Kentucky's squad has a homegrown feel with five players from the Bluegrass State on the 12-player roster.
• Overall, the Wildcats have nine returners on their roster and have three newcomers on their team for 2023-24.

SERIES HISTORY 

• ETSU and Kentucky have met a total of three times over the years. The first game in the series was in 1982 and the last meeting was in 2013.
• Kentucky has won two of the three matchups with ETSU's win coming on December 12, 2008. In that contest, the Buccaneers upended the Wildcats, 59-50. That victory was a part of a 20-11 campaign for the Bucs that culminated with their second straight Atlantic Sun Championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• All three games between the Bucs and Wildcats were played at the Memorial Coliseum.

UP NEXT 
ETSU will open its home schedule on Saturday when it welcomes Lafayette to Brooks Gym. Tip-off for that game is set for Noon.  
 
PURCHASE TICKETS
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.