JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee State women's basketball collected their first Southern Conference home victory of the 2025-26 campaign on Friday afternoon in Brooks Gym.  The Bucs (10-11, 3-3 SoCon) downed the Samford Bulldogs (8-15, 1-5 SoCon) 53-44.

NOTABLES

• Meghan Downing paved the way to victory for the Bucs with her second double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and securing 12 rebounds to reach the feat.  The senior guard tacked on ted season-highs of four blocks and two steals with her fifth straight contest recording two or more assists.  She extended her blocking steak to 38 consecutive appearances.
• Anala Nelson, the graduate guard, tallied 16 points for her ninth outing of the season in double-digits, going 8-9 from the line and 4-8 from the field with five rebounds and one assist.
• Daniela Lopez, the junior guard, collected eight rebounds, seven points, two assists, one steal and two blocks for her first complete sheet of the season.  
• Sophomore guards Carmen Richardson and Jaidyn Harper paced each other with eight points and five rebounds apiece, both tallying at least one block and Richardson with a steal. 
• Blocking efforts were at a season-high with the squad combining for nine blocks against the Bulldogs.  Downing led with four while Lopez and Harper both reached a career-high of two and Richardson secured her seventh career with one total.  The nine blocks were the single-game highest for the Bucs since the 2022-23 season versus Furman.
• The team totaled 53 points, 47 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and nine blocks, shooting 60% in field goals, 100% in three-pointers and 66.7% in free throws in the final quarter to secure the victory.  
• For the sixth time this season, ETSU surpassed 45 rebounds, averaging over 38 per game through the campaign and reached 20 or more made field goals for the eighth time this season.

UP NEXT
The Bucs, pending weather, will host Mercer at 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 1 in Brooks Gym to round out the opening half of conference action.