NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 15, 2024) – East Tennessee State University women's basketball missed a shot at the buzzer and fell narrowly, 62-61, at Lipscomb.

Junior forward Meghan Downing led the Bucs with a 12 point, 15 rebound double-double. It's her first double-double of the season and a career-high 15 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass. Senior guard Braylyn Milton added 11 points and nine rebounds (six offensive), falling one rebound short of her first career double-double. As a team, ETSU outrebounded Lipscomb 49-26.

After falling behind early, the Bucs bounced back behind a balanced first quarter to take a 14-13 lead at the end of the frame. Six Bucs scored in the quarter, and Milton was the only one to hit multiple shots in the early going.

The second quarter was back-and-forth and low scoring, with neither team building a multi-possession lead. Lipscomb took the 26-25 halftime lead on a jumper hit in the paint at the halftime buzzer.

The Bisons led for the bulk of the third and fourth quarters. ETSU had an early third quarter lead, but Lipscomb was able to extend its lead to as much as seven points with 6:06 remaining in the game. 

ETSU wouldn't go away, though. Freshman guard Lucy Hood hit a shot from beyond the arc and Downing made one at the basket on back-to-back possessions with 2:53 minutes left to cut the lead to 1. Then, Milton and Downing combined for another set of back-to-back scores after a pair of Bisons free throws.

Downing's layup with 1:36 gave ETSU its first lead since 7:41 in the third quarter. It wouldn't last, though, as Lipscomb came back to take the 60-59 lead on a layup from Jalyn Holcomb with 43 seconds to play. Milton was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound on the other end of the floor and hit both free throws with 14 seconds left, but Holcomb hit another shot to give the Bisons the 62-41 lead back with 4.7 seconds remaining.

A 3-point attempt from Milton was off the mark. Freshman guard Carmen Richardson was able to get yet another offensive rebound, but her putback attempt was after the buzzer and just short, and the Bisons took the 62-61 win.

Next, ETSU travels to Campbell at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19 to face off with the Camels.

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