JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee State women's basketball returns to Brooks Gym for the first-ever matchup in program history with the Southern Indiana Eagles.  
 
Game Information:
East Tennessee State vs. Southern Indiana
Dec. 6 | 4 p.m. ET | Johnson City, Tenn. | Brooks Gymnasium
Game Notes | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)  
Matchup Notes:

• The 2025-26 meeting marks the first ever meeting of the two programs.

vs. Eastern Illinois (W, 60-54)

• Lopez led with career-highs in points (22), rebounds (9), field goals (8) and 3PTM (4).
• Lopez, Richardson and Nelson each posted two assists.
• Nelson went 4-8 in field goals and 4-4 from the line, her third outing of the season at 100% from the line.
• McAmis posted a career-high six rebounds.
• Team totaled 60 points, 39 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks.

vs. No. 23 Louisville (L, 50-88)

• Downing secured the ETSU all-time career blocks record (130) with her first of the contest. She also led with eight rebounds.
• Richardson and Nelson both reached 13 points. Nelson tacked on two assists, one steal and two rebounds.
• Younkin grabbed two steals.
• Hood totaled two assists.
• Team totaled 50 points, 25 rebounds, six assists, six steals and two blocks.

vs. Bellarmine (W, 55-49)

• Downing led with a season-high 13 points, tacking on four rebounds and four blocks, going 3-3 from the line.
• Richardson and Harper followed with seven points apiece.
• Richardson and Nelson led with three assists and Richardson tacked on two steals.
• Four Bucs were perfect from the free throw line: Downing (3-3), Harper (2-2), Richardson (2-2) and Nelson (4-4).
• Harper boasted a career-high seven rebounds.
• Team totaled 55 points, 44 rebounds, 11 assists, five blocks and four steals.

at Memphis (L, 54-60)

• Nelson and Lyons led the squad with 14 points apiece. Nelson went 8-10 from the line and Lyons went 5-7. 
• Nelson tacked on three assists and three steals with four rebounds.
• Younkin boasted 10 rebounds for a career-high and the single-game individual-high for a Buc this season. 
• Monsanto totaled seven rebounds while Downing and Harper tallied six each. 
• Nine members of the squad collected multiple points. 
• Team totaled 54 points, 45 rebounds, seven assists, six steals and one block. 

at Tennessee Tech (L, 52-61)

• Nelson reached ETSU career-highs in points (17), free throws (7-8) and field goals (5-9). 
• Monsanto recorded her third consecutive appearance with double-digit points (11). 
• Downing totaled two blocks, moving her just six from the All-Time Career Record at ETSU.
• Lopez made her ETSU debut with seven points. 
• Team totaled 52 points, 31 rebounds, eight assists, nine steals and three blocks. 

vs. Claflin (W, 69-31)

• Harper totaled a career-high 14 PTS with career-highs in 3PT made (3) and field goals (5).
• Monsanto collected 12 PTS going 4-6 in FG and 4-6 in FT with 4 STL.
• Lyons reached a season-high 13 PTS with 2 STL.
• Monsanto, Boyd and Downing each recorded a block.
• Nelson posted a full sheet with 7 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST and 3 STL.
• Team totaled 69 points, 46 rebounds, 18 steals, 10 assists and three blocks.

vs. Kennesaw State (L, 63-64)

• Hood boasted a career-high 14 PTS and 4 3PTM in the contest.
• Monsanto reached double-digit points in just her third collegiate outing with 11.
• Harper went 2-2 in 3PTM and 2-2 in FT.
• Nelson posted the individual single-game high this season of four steals.
• Team totaled 63 points, 28 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 blocks and 6 steals.

at No. 8 Tennessee (L, 47-97)

• McAmis made her collegiate debut with a tied team-high of 10 points, tacking on her first collegiate steal, rebound and assist.
• France recorded the squads single-game individual high of nine rebounds during her 24 minutes of action and collected her first collegiate points alongside the rebounds.
• Team totaled 47 points, 36 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.

vs. Elon (L, 56-65 OT)

• Richardson collected a career-high 21 points. Led the squad all-around with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. 
• Younkin saw a career-high 36 minutes of action with career-highs in points (8) and rebounds (8) and recorded her first career block. 
• Monsanto recorded a notable collegiate debut with 4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and one assist. 
• ETSU outscored Elon in points from turnovers (13-10) and fast breaks (9-5). 
• Team totaled 51 points, 45 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 blocks and 7 steals. 

 
Meghan Downing - Preseason All-SoCon
Carmen Richardson - Preseason All-SoCon
 

• ETSU women's basketball enters its 46th season of competition in the 2025-26 campaign.
• Brenda Mock Brown returns for her fourth season as head coach of East Tennessee State women's basketball, after guiding the Bucs to a 60-35 overall record through her first three seasons with the program.
• The 2025-26 squad consists of four freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and four seniors.  There are seven newcomers and seven returners on the roster, with three transfers in.
• Eric Gracia enters his third season with the staff, Honey Brown in her second and Joe Silvestri and Nadiria Evans enter their first.
• Meghan Downing and Carmen Richardson were tabbed to the Preseason All-SoCon team. 
• ETSU was picked to finish third overall in the conference after finishing third in 2024-25.
• The squad faces competition from 11 conferences (SEC, ACC, CAA, CUSA, CIAA, OVC, AAC, ASUN, Big South, Conference Carolinas and the SoCon) across the 29 scheduled contests.
• Brooks Gymnasium will house action for 14 of 29 games in the 2025-26 campaign and tickets can be purchased here.
• ETSU opens conference action on Jan. 8 with Furman at home in Brooks Gym and closes regular season on the road at Samford on Feb. 28.
• The Bucs look towards their first SoCon Tourament title at the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season, which will be held at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. over March 6-9 and streamed on ESPN+.

2025 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Chattanooga (6) - 48 
2. UNCG (2) - 39 
3. ETSU - 38  
4. Wofford - 28 
5. Furman - 26  
6. Samford - 19  
7. Western Carolina - 14 
8. Mercer - 12 
() denotes first-place votes

2025 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Meghan Downing, Sr., F, ETSU  
Carmen Richardson, So., G, ETSU 
Clare Coyle, So., F, Furman 
Ariana Bennett, Sr., F, Mercer 
Makiah Asidanya, Jr., G, UNCG 
Jaila Lee, Sr., G, UNCG 
Emily Bowman, R-Sr., C, Samford  
Gianna Corbitt, So., F, Chattanooga 
Caia Elisaldez, Jr., G, Chattanooga  
Molly Masingale, So., G, Wofford 
 

• The Bucs recorded their third consecutive winning season with a 17-13 record, ending their season in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament.
• Meghan Downing was tabbed to the SoCon All-Defensive Team, Courtney Moore was a First Team All-SoCon selection and Carmen Richardson was awarded a spot on the All-SoCon Freshman Team following a third-place finish in the league.
• The squad led the league in blocked shots (100 at 3.33 per game).
• Meghan Downing set the ETSU single-season blocks record (70, 2024-25) and remains second all-time in ETSU single-game records for blocks (5 vs. Coker in 2023).  Downing also recorded three doubles in the 2024-25 slate: 16 pts and 10 rebs vs. Furman, 18 pts and 10 rebs vs. UNC Greensboro and 12 pts and 15 rebs at Lipscomb.
• Courtney Moore finished the season as the third most effective shooter in the conference, tallying 361 points at 12.89 points per game while leading the league in free throw percentage at .833 (75 FTM, 90 FTA).  Moore also found herself top five in the conference in steals with 46 total at 1.64 per game.
• Meghan Downing was the fourth most effective rebounder at 227 total with 7.57 per game while leading the conference in blocks with 70 total at 2.33 per game.  Downing also recorded eight double-digit rebound games.
• Paige Lyons found herself on the 20-point performances list with her career-high 23 points at Furman.
• The Bucs were selected to finish fifth in the SoCon Preseason Poll, yet finished third overall in the regular season.

Season, single-game and group tickets can be purchased here.
For more information on Buccaneer women's volleyball, follow @ETSU_wbb on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.