Wednesday, January 27, 2010

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 27, 2010) - Since receiving a wake-up call earlier this month at USC Upstate, the ETSU women's basketball team has been on a mission and Wednesday night's target were the Lady Camels of Campbell.

Four Lady Buccaneers scored in double figures and ETSU recorded 43 points of turnovers, as the Blue and Gold notched its seventh straight victory with an 88-65 win over Campbell inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

Senior Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) returned to the starting lineup and shot 8-of-12 from the field to finish with a game-high 20 points, while sophomore Gwen Washington (Manassas, Va.) tallied her second double-double of the season (12 points and 10 rebounds).

With the win, ETSU improved to 6-0 at home and 11-7, 9-1 in Atlantic Sun play. Campbell, meanwhile, saw its three-game winning streak come to  halt as the Lady Camels dropped to 11-8, 6-4.

"I was hoping we would be on a mission before that Upstate game, but that was pretty much a wake-up call for us," said head coach Karen Kemp, who saw her Lady Bucs improve to 9-0 lifetime against Campbell. "Since then we have been a little more focused; however, we are still not where I want us to be on either end of the floor. So hopefully we will continue to work hard and get better."

The Lady Bucs raced out to a hot start to begin the first half, as ETSU connected on its first four shot attempts and led 9-2, forcing Campbell to call a 30-second timeout at the 17:47 mark. Eventually, ETSU made its first six shot attempts and grabbed a 14-4 lead; however, the Lady Camels settled in and scored the next six points to cut the deficit to four, 14-10, after Geami Britt sank a jumper with 14 minutes, 58 seconds left in the half.

Fortunately, the Lady Bucs slowed down Campbell and pushed their lead back into double figures over the next 10-plus minutes, as Tarita Gordon's (Wichita, Kan.) jumper with 4:12 showing on the clock put the Blue and Gold ahead, 42-27. Campbell would cut it to nine (42-33), but ETSU scored the last five points of the half to carry a 47-33 advantage into the locker room.

Both teams shot lights out in the opening 20 minutes, as ETSU finished 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) and Campbell was 15-for-29 (51.7 percent). The Lady Buccaneers feasted off 17 Campbell turnovers, as ETSU scored 26 points off the miscues. ETSU also sank four three-pointers (10 attempts), while the Lady Camels went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.

"It definitely helps when you can come out and knock down the first few shots," added Kemp. "We were really ready for this team, because we knew they were going to come out and be ready for us. We felt like we had to come out and make a statement early on."

The Lady Bucs made a statement early on with their blistering shooting, and the same went for the start of the second half. ETSU scored the first six points in the second stanza and quickly pushed its lead up to 20, 53-33, after Washington laid one in at the 18:11 mark.

From there, Campbell was only able to lower the deficit to the teens once - and another lay-up by Washington with less than 14 minutes to play - put ETSU up 64-39. ETSU continued to dominate and eventually saw its lead grow to 27, 88-61, when Natalie Pickwell (Kingsport) scored two of her career-high nine points with 1 minute, 23 seconds remaining in the contest.

For the game, ETSU shot over 50-percent for the second time this season - posting a 52.2 shooting percentage (35-67). The Lady Buccaneer defense also played a significant role, as they forced a season-high 30 turnovers and recorded a season-best 16 steals. Evans paced the Lady Bucs with five thefts, while Washington had five of ETSU's 17 assists.

In total, the Lady Bucs used their bench wisely, with no one playing more than 25 minutes. All 12 ETSU players saw action, with 10 playing ten-plus minutes.

"This is a big week for us," added Kemp. "We played today, and then we turn around and play Saturday and Monday. It was great to not only get Siarre some rest, but the starters in general."

Campbell, who shot 47.3 percent from the field (26-55) was led by Tonisha Baker's 16 points.

ETSU continues its big week with a showdown against Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m.

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