Tuesday, November 21, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 21, 2006) - The ETSU women's basketball team provided a solid team effort as they defeated Appalachian State 104-87 Tuesday night in Memorial Center. The 104 points mark the fifth highest point total in ETSU women's history, and are the most points scored since Jan. 8, 2001, when they poured in 101 against Appalachian State.

The Lady Bucs had five players finish in double figures with freshman Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) leading the way with a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) recorded her first career double-double as she added 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Devin Thompson (Smyrna, Tenn.) sparked the Lady Bucs' bench adding career-highs with 20 points and six boards. Senior Brooke Wilhoit (Sevierville, Tenn.) finished with a career-high 21 points, and junior Nichelle Akers (Sumter, S.C.) scored a season-best 10 points.

The Lady Bucs jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but the Mountaineers quickly answered and kept the game close for the first nine minutes of the first half. ETSU then went on a 13-5 run, to open up a 24-15 lead with 11:13 remaining in the half. The Mountaineers closed the gap to within one, 27-26, but that is as close as they would get. ETSU finished out the final 8:31 of the first half on a 29-13 run, taking a 56-39 lead into the locker room.

At the break, Wilhoit who was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field ended the half with 15 points. The 56 points in the half were the most points by the Lady Bucs since Feb. 4, 2004, when they scored 50 in the second half against Davidson.

The Mountaineers came out of the break on fire, as they only needed thirty-two seconds to cut the Lady Bucs lead to 56-46. From there Appalachian State would get to within five, 60-55, with 14:31 remaining, but the Lady Bucs would hold the Mountaineers to only five points in the next four and a half minutes to open up to a 20-point advantage at, 80-60, with 10:01 to go in the contest. Appalachian State would not go away as they went on a 19-6 run, cutting the Lady Bucs lead to 86-79 at the 5:18 mark. However, the Lady Bucs proved they wanted the game more by closing out the final 5:00 minutes on an 18-8 run, picking up their first victory of the season.

Appalachian State also had five players end in double figures with Maria Grimes finishing with a career-high 22 points. The Lady Bucs finished the game shooting 47.2 percent (34-72) from the field, compared to 39.0 percent (30-77) by the Mountaineers. ETSU outrebounded its opponent for the first time this season with a 51-40 advantage, and made 29 free-throws to Appalachian State's 16. The Lady Bucs improve to 1-3 on the early season, while the Mountaineers fall to 2-2.

The Lady Bucs will look to win back-to-back games as they host Georgetown this Friday at 7 p.m in Memorial Center. This will be the last time fans can see the Lady Bucs in action at home until Dec. 20, as they hit the road for five straight games.