Sunday, January 27, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2008) - The ETSU women's basketball team will look to hand Jacksonville its first  conference loss of the season and move into a tie for first-place when the two teams face  off in a Monday matinee. The Lady Bucs and Dolphins will tip-off at 1 p.m. inside Swisher Gymnasium.

Both ETSU and Jacksonville enter Monday afternoon's contest as two of the hottest teams in the Atlantic Sun. The Lady Buccaneers have won three straight, including five of their first six conference games; while the Dolphins are in the midst of a program-best 10-game winning streak and hold the nation's second-longest home win streak at 17. Both streaks have a chance to end Monday as Duke (22 straight) hosts Tennessee.

The Lady Bucs won two of the three games a year ago and have taken four of five in the all-time series. ETSU won the most important game in the short-lived rivalry as they ended JU's season with a 78-72 victory in the semifinals of the conference tournament last March.

Fans unable to make the trip to Nashville can view all the action via the live video streaming accessed at ASun.TV or by clicking the link located above. 

Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information regarding the Lady Buccaneer basketball and all other athletic news.

About Jacksonville

Jacksonville returns eight letterwinners and all five starters from last season's squad that set a program-record with 21 wins. After going 10-18 in 2005-06, the Dolphins were tied for sixth in the nation for the greatest turnaround last year.

The Dolphins were selected to win the regular season and conference title by the Atlantic Sun coaches and are led by Preseason Player of the Year winner Ashley Williams.

Head Coach Jill Dunn's club has posted a 16-3 mark after its first 19 games, and are currently on a school record 10-game winning streak. Jacksonville leads the conference with a 6-0 record and has been receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll for the past three weeks.

Williams is averaging a conference best 17.3 points per game; while Virginia Gregoire (13.7) and Regina Omoite (11.4) are also posting double figures in scoring. As a team, the Dolphins are outscoring their opponents, 67 to 58 (+8.0) and have the nation's seond longest home winning streak at 17 games.

The Series

ETSU leads the all-time series 4-1, with the lone Lady Buccaneer loss coming last season in Swisher Gymnasium. Jacksonville defeated ETSU, 83-79, last Feb. 15; however, the Lady Bucs avenged the four-point loss by knocking the Dolphins out of the Atlantic Sun tournament with a 78-72 victory in the semifinals. The victory ended JU's season and ETSU claimed the automatic bid to the WNIT after falling to top-seeded Belmont in the championship game. Siarre Evans is averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in her three career games against the conference rival.

More about Friday's Win...

With its 18-point win over North Florida, ETSU has now won all five games vs. the Ospreys and seven straight against teams from the Sunshine state inside Memorial Center ... four Lady Buccaneer players reached double figures in the scoring column, with sophomore TaRonda Wiles leading the way at 11 points ... Michele DeVault was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 21, 2005, but still managed to grab a season-high 10 rebounds ... both teams combined to grab 92 rebounds with 49 coming on the offensive end ... the Ospreys scored 39 points, marking the lowest total ETSU has held an opponent this season, and the lowest since Mercer netted only 29 back on Nov. 30, 2006.

Where the Lady Bucs Rank In the A-Sun

The Lady Bucs rank first in six statistical categories among conference games only. ETSU leads the league in scoring offense (74.3), scoring margin (+16.5), three-point field goal percentage (.380), assists (18.2), steals (15.0), and turnover margin (+6.3).

Florida Love

The Lady Bucs are currently 7-0 against teams from the Sunshine State inside Memorial Center in their last seven contests, and have won 11 of 14 against teams from Florida overall.

Pack The House

The NCAA has challenged all 32 women's basketball conferences to a "Pack The House" night during the 2007-08 season. The competition begins Jan. 1 and runs through Feb. 17, and the object is to come up with a creative marketing plan and sellout or increase your previous year's single-game record attendance. The Lady Bucs have registered for the challenge and will look to sellout or break last season's mark of 1,117 fans against Jacksonville when they play host to Kennesaw State on Feb. 2.

Lady Bucs on ASun.TV

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Mountain States Health Alliance Buccaneer Sports Network, the Atlantic Sun Conference and PlayON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, have launched ASun.TV this season in an effort to give fans a totally new way to watch their favorite teams play. A new Web service, ASun.TV will webcast a minimum of 540 regular season and championship games across a variety of A-Sun sports in 2007-08, including men's and women's basketball, soccer and volleyball, as well as baseball and softball.

Upcoming ASun.TV Lady Buc broadcasts:

Feb. 2 vs. Kennesaw State, 2 p.m.

Feb. 4 vs. Mercer, 7 p.m.

A Look Ahead

ETSU will return home for and enjoy a two-game homestand next weekend. The Lady Bucs will host Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside Memorial Center for ETSU's "Pack The House" promotion. The Lady Bucs will hold a youth clinic following the contest and prior to the game the ETSU athletic department and Mountain States Health Alliance will host a Red Dress Luncheon, which is designed to create awareness on heart disease.