BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (Nov. 12, 2024) – East Tennessee State University women's basketball beat Gardner-Webb 44-42 on Tuesday for its first victory of the season.

Senior guard Braylyn Milton led the Bucs with 12. Senior guard Kendall Folley and junior forward Meghan Downing both added seven. 

Both teams started off shaky on the offensive end and strong on the defensive end of the floor. A 3-point make from Milton and a Gardner-Webb jumper was all the offense either side mustered for the first seven minutes of the contest. Milton hit another shot from beyond the arc and the Runnin' Bulldogs mustered some offense to end the quarter, but ETSU led 10-8 after the end of the quarter.

Gardner-Webb found a rhythm offensively in the second quarter, scoring 20 points with four made 3-pointers. The Runnin' Bulldogs stretched their lead to as much as 12 with three minutes to play. Then, the Bucs went on a 9-0 run to head into the locker room trailing 28-25.

ETSU left the locker room and allowed a pair of quick field goals to start the second half before a combination of suffocating defense from the Bucs and a cold streak hit the Runnin' Bulldogs. ETSU kept GWU off the board for the rest of the quarter, and only allowed two more field goals in the last 18 minutes of the game.

The Bucs closed the quarter on a 10-0 run behind four from freshman guard Carmen Richardson and a 3-point make from freshman guard Kaylee Carson. 

Carson hit another shot from beyond the arc to start the fourth quarter before both squads amped up the defensive intensity, allowing just eight points total over nearly an eight minute span. A 3-pointer from Folley gave ETSU a six-point lead with a minute and a half to play, but Lauren Bailey answered with a 3-point make immediately and the Runnin' Bulldogs hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left. On the other end, Downing hit a free throw to put ETSU back up two. 

With five seconds to play, the Runnin' Bulldogs inbounded to Bailey, who had her 3-point attempt at the top of the key blocked by Downing. After getting her own rebound, Downing swatted a second 3-point attempt from Bailey out of bounds as time expired to seal the Bucs' first win of the season.

Next, ETSU travels to Lipscomb at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 15 to face off with the Bisons.

For more information on Buccaneer women's basketball, follow @ETSU_WBB on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.