FORT MYERS, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2024) – East Tennessee State University women's basketball used another strong defensive performance to stymie IU Indy 54-41 on Friday in Florida.

Freshman guard Carmen Richardson joined Braylyn Milton as the only players to lead the Bucs (8-5) in points, rebounds and assists in a single game this season. The Orlando, Fla., native scored 15 to go with six rebounds and a pair of assists in the win. 5th year forward Isabella Hunt added a season-high 11 for ETSU.

Richardson and Hunt dominated the first quarter for the Bucs. Hunt scored nine points and Richardson added eight as the duo combined for all 17 of ETSU's points in the frame, giving the Bucs a 17-13 lead.

IU Indy (1-10) fought back in the second, using a 10-3 run to take a 26-25 lead into halftime, as the Blue & Gold only managed two made field goals in the quarter.

ETSU came out of the locker room after halftime and had one of its best offensive third quarters of the season. Senior guard Courtney Moore got in on the scoring for the first time, posting six in the frame, and junior forward Meghan Downing added four. Moore notched three steals and the Bucs forced seven IU Indy turnovers to hold the Jags to just seven points in the frame to take a 42-33 lead heading into the fourth.

Richardson and Hunt finished off their impressive afternoon in the fourth, combining for the first seven points of the frame. The Bucs' defense held IU Indy without a made field goal for over eight minutes, before a made 3-pointer from the Jaguars with 1:38 to go snapped the drought. Freshman guard Jaidyn Harper added a late basket to give her a career high seven points, and the Bucs cruised to a 54-41 victory.

ETSU, which ranked No. 40 nationally in scoring defense entering the contest, has now held seven opponents under 50 points after doing so just nine times in all of 2023-24, including the worst scoring outings for IU Indy, Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb.

Next, the Bucs take on mid-major No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21.

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