JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 25, 2025) – East Tennessee State University women's basketball fell 48-46 at Chattanooga on Saturday..

Senior guard Braylyn Milton led the Bucs with 21 points and eight rebounds. 5th year guard Courtney Moore scored 11 for her seventh consecutive double-digit game, and junior forward Meghan Downing grabbed ten rebounds and added four blocks.

Moore opened the scoring with a 3-pointer eight seconds into the game. Defense, which dominated the first half, followed from both sides, as neither team scored for over three minutes. Caia Elisaldez eventually got the lid off the basket for the Mocs, scoring her first of a team high 13 in the half. Milton got going late in the first quarter, posting six in the frame, but ETSU trailed 15-13 at the end of the quarter. 

The defenses of the rivals continued stifling the opposing offense in the second, with no points scored in the first four and half minutes. The Mocs and Bucs combined for 16 first half turnovers. Milton got the Bucs back on track with a triple, and gave ETSU the 22-21 halftime lead with a layup. 

The Bucs struggled on the offensive end in the third quarter, only hitting one shot from the field at the end of the frame. At the same time, ETSU ceded the best offensive quarter of the game to the Mocs, falling behind by as much as 14, and trailed 39-26 heading to the final ten minutes.

Trailing by 13, the Buccaneer offense finally kicked into gear. Sophomore guard Brecken Snotherly scored four quick points for ETSU, and Milton spearheaded the rally, going on a 10-2 run by herself, including a pair of 3-pointers, the latter of which came with 1:17 to play and cut the deficit to 44-42.

Redshirt junior guard Paige Lyons got to the free throw line after hitting a layup with 57 seconds to play, but was unable to convert the shot. An official whistled prior to either team possessing the ball on the rebound, anticipating a Chattanooga timeout called in the event of a made free throw or miss and rebound, but the possession arrow pointed to ETSU, giving the Bucs the ball back.

On the ensuing possession, Moore hit a layup to tie the game at 46. Elisaldez scored on the other end for the Mocs with 24 seconds left, and there wouldn't be another made shot, as ETSU fell 48-46.

Next, ETSU continues its road trip at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Furman (12-9, 2-3 SoCon).

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