Friday, January 18, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 18, 2008) - If there is ever a such thing as a make-or-break road trip, this weekend would count as one of those for the ETSU women's basketball team. The Lady Bucs will face two in-state conference rivals, starting with Lipscomb Saturday afternoon inside Allen Arena at 3 p.m. EST.

Standing at 6-10 overall and 2-1 in Atlantic Sun play, the Lady Bucs hope not to repeat what happened last season when ETSU visited Nashville, and need to pick up two important road wins in order to stay close to league leaders Jacksonville and Gardner-Webb in the standings. A year ago the Lady Buccaneers made the trip back to Johnson City seem that much longer after going winless and missing a shot to move into first-place in the Music City.

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

Below is a breakdown of the match-up:

Lady Bucs' Last Game

ETSU turned the ball over a season-high 31 times and allowed Appalachian State to grab 20 offensive rebounds Wednesday evening in Boone. Despite all the costly mistakes the Lady Bucs surprisingly still had a chance to win the game, but lost a close one, 73-70, inside the Holmes Center.

Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) led the team with 14 points and sophomore post Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) collected her third career double-double (second this season). Belcher finished with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds; however, she also coughed the ball up eight times on the night.

About Lipscomb

Lipscomb enters Saturday's match-up with a record of 3-13 overall and 1-2 in the Atlantic Sun. The Lady Bisons defeated Campbell in conference play but fell to Gardner-Webb (on the road) and Belmont (at home).

The Lady Bisons were selected sixth in the A-Sun this season after earning the sixth seed in the conference tournament last year. Lipscomb is led by 6-2 junior post Katie Rollins, who is the only player averaging double figures in scoring at 11 points per game. Rollins also leads the squad in rebounding at 5.1 per contest.

As a team, Lipscomb is being outscored by over 10 points a game (57.2-67.6) and is only shooting 34.4 percent in the 16 contests this season.

The Series

ETSU leads the short-lived series, 4-1, against the Lady Bisons. The lone Lady Buccaneer loss came last season inside Allen Arena, 57-52. In that game, ETSU was held to a season-low in points (during the conference season) and a 26.2 shooting percentage. The Lady Bucs have beaten Lipscomb by an average of 21 points per game in the series, and have forced the Lady Bisons to turn the ball over 28.2 times in the five games. Senior Michele DeVault is averaging 13.2 ppg in the five contests vs. Lipscomb.

Where the Lady Bucs Rank In the A-Sun

The Lady Bucs rank first in five statistical categories among conference games only. ETSU ranks first in scoring offense (79.7), scoring margin (+16.3), assists (20.7), steals (16.0), and turnover margin (+7.33).

Stealing is a Good Thing...

Usually stealing is looked down upon, but in basketball it is fun and should always be done. On Monday evening, the Lady Bucs had a lot of fun by forcing a school-record 24 steals against Campbell. ETSU broke the mark by one, which was set back on Feb. 19, 2000 against College of Charleston. TaRonda Wiles and Latisha Belcher combined for 11 steals; while Wiles set a new career high with six picks.

A Look Ahead

The Lady Bucs conclude their three-game road swing with Belmont Monday afternoon. Tip is set for 1 p.m. EST inside the Curb Event Center. 

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