Wednesday, February 18, 2009

BUIES CREEK, N.C. (Feb. 18, 2009) - In the midst of a difficult four-game conference road swing, the ETSU women's basketball team will get its first-ever look at the newly built John W. Pope Convocation Center on Thursday night, when the Lady Bucs square off with Atlantic Sun Conference foe Campbell at 7 p.m.

The Lady Bucs are coming off an 86-76 win over Belmont on Sunday afternoon. Now, after taking a two-game lead over Belmont and Jacksonville for the number one seed in next month's A-Sun Tournament, ETSU not only looks to keep its grip on that lead, but also keep pace with league-leading Florida Gulf Coast atop the conference standings.

ETSU - who has secured a program-tying fourth consecutive winning season - trail the Eagles by a half-game in the league race for a regular season title. The Lady Bucs bring a 15-9, 13-3 record into Thursday's match-up - where ETSU is a perfect 7-0 all-time against the Lady Camels - including an 87-57 win back on Jan. 22 in Johnson City.

Juniors TaRonda Wiles (Danville, Va.) and Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) scored 50 of those 87 points last month and still sit 1-2 in the A-Sun for scoring. Wiles - who recorded a game-high 30 points in the last meeting over Campbell - leads the conference with 16.0 points per game. Meanwhile, Evans netted 20 points in the 30-point win over the Lady Camels, and is the only student-athlete in the A-Sun to be averaging a double-double. Evans ranks second in scoring with 15.3ppg and first in rebounding with 10.3rpg.

The Lady Camels (10-15, 3-13) have lost three straight and 11 of their last 13 games. All three conference wins have come at home for Campbell - where the Lady Camels are 7-4 on the season. Campbell defeated Mercer (56-50), UNF (61-38) and Lipscomb (70-56) in league play this season. The Lady Camels are led by Lauren Yesh's 9.0 points per game, Ashley Williamson's 8.0 rebounds per contest and Geami Britt's 46.8 shooting percentage.

Fans unable to make the trip to Buies Creek, N.C. can view all the action on-line through ASun.TV. Also, live stats will be available by clicking the link above.

For more information on Lady Buccaneer basketball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.