JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee State women's basketball (5-8, 0-0 SoCon) advanced in the series history 6-4 against the Gardner-Webb Running Bulldogs (3-10, 0-0 Big South) with a 59-37 victory.  Meghan Downing boasted a powerful performance with a season-high 11 points and a tied season-high of 12 rebounds for her third consecutive contest with double-digit rebounds, tacking on a career-high three assists.

NOTABLES

• Three Bucs reached double-digit points for the first time this season.  Downing, the senior forward, led with her 11 and was followed by guards Carmen Richardson (So.) and Daniela Lopez (Jr.) with 10 apiece.
• Downing and freshman center Lucia France both reached double-digit rebounds, marking the first time this season with two players in double-digits for the statistic.  Downing recorded her tied season-high of 12 while France secured a career-high 10, adding on four points.
• Downing posted one block in the contest, growing her block streak to at least one in the last 31 consecutive appearances.
• Three members of the squad reached three assists for the game-high - Downing, Lopez and graduate guard Anala Nelson. Nelson also secured the team-high of two steals with five rebounds.  
• Lucy Hood, the sophomore guard, led from three-point range with the game-high of three made for nine total points. 
• ETSU went 18-19 from the line, with Downing posting the game-high 5-5 to be followed by Lopez, Richardson, sophomore guard Jaidyn Harper, France and freshman guard Emmah McAmis with 2-2 at the line.
• The team totaled 59 points, a season-high 48 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and one block with 12 of 14 members of the squad recording minutes.

GAME FLOW
Q1

• Nelson and freshman guard SaBreya Monsanto led defensive efforts with two rebounds apiece through the first frame while Harper and Downing led offensively with three points apiece.
• The squad totaled 12 rebounds through the first with a five-point scoring run in the middle of the quarter for the advantage 10-7.

Q2

• Hood stunned in the second frame with two three-pointers for six points to be followed by Richardson with five points wile Downing led the defense with five rebounds and one block with France reaching six rebounds.
• The squad boasted a single-game quarter-high in rebounds with 16 through the second quarter, outscoring the Running Bulldogs in second chance points (5-0), fast breaks (5-2) and bench points (8-0).

Q3

• Lopez was a dominate force in in the third quarter with 10 points after going 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from the line with two three pointers made and one assist.
• ETSU totaled 19 points for the highest scoring quarter of the contest with points coming from five individuals and an eight-point scoring run midway through the frame.

Q4

• Downing was the complete leader in the final frame with four rebounds, four points and two assists.
• The team held Gardner-Webb to just six points in the fourth, the second lowest scoring quarter for an opponent so far this season.

UP NEXT
The Bucs look to close the 2025 slate at Charlotte on Sunday, December 21 at 11:30 a.m.