JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 30, 2023) – The ETSU women's basketball team closed out 2023 with a 65-53 victory over Coker on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Gym. Saturday's win boosts ETSU's record to 11-4 on the 2023-24 campaign.
 
The Bucs had several players put together stellar statistical outings. Kendall Folley paced all Buccaneer scorers with 16 points on the afternoon. The 16 points by Folley was her most in a game since November 19 at Presbyterian when she had 17 in another ETSU win. Nevaeh Brown chipped in 12 points, while Meghan Downing and Brecken Snotherly both had career-high point totals finishing with 10 points apiece. Downing also posted new career-highs in both rebounding (12) and blocks (five). The five blocks by Downing, which were the most by a SoCon player this season, are tied for the second-most in a single game by a Buc and the most by an ETSU player since Jakhyia Davis also had five against Furman on February 18, 2023.
 
ETSU wasted little time in jumping on the Cobras on Saturday. The Buccaneers netted nine of the first 11 points of the matchup. Folley and Downing were particularly good early on for ETSU. Folley scored nine points in the opening quarter, while Downing added six points of her own to go with five offensive rebounds. Coker had the Buc lead trimmed to four on a couple of occasions before ETSU built its lead back out to 14, 22-8, after one quarter of play.
 
Coker did not put much of a dent into ETSU's lead in the second quarter. The Cobras got within 11 points, 22-11, with a little over seven minutes to go before halftime. However, ETSU used balanced scoring (five different players) and attacked the Cobras down low (10 points in paint) to extend its lead out to 19 at the half, 39-20.
 
As the second half began, Coker opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to get the Buccaneer lead back to 11 points. The Buccaneers answered with a run of their own as they scored seven straight points to push their advantage to a then game-high 20 points. A 3-pointer by Coker closed out the scoring in the third quarter but the Bucs still led by 17, 56-39.
 
The Cobras, who outscored ETSU 19-17 in the third quarter, put together another good frame in fourth. Coker knocked down half of its field goals (6-for-12) and at one point reeled off an 8-0 run against the Bucs. However, the lead that ETSU built up in the first three quarters was enough for it to finish off the 65-53 win over the Cobras. The Buccaneers finish out non-conference play with 11 wins, which is tied for the second-most in program history.   
 
ETSU's next game will be on January 11 when it opens up SoCon play against Samford. Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m. at Brooks Gym.  
 
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.