Saturday, December 18, 2004

(Dec. 18, 2004) -  In a game rattled with a combined 63 turnovers and 53 fouls, the Lady Bucs opened the 2004-05 home conference season with a convincing win over the Wofford Terriers 77-51 this afternoon in Brooks Gymnasium.  Led by senior forward Tiffani Mayes (Sumter, S.C.) who posted 23 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Bucs, ETSU improves to 4-4, 2-0 in SoCon play for the year.  Pacing the Terriers was Kelsi Koenig with 11 points and two steals as Wofford falls to 2-8, 0-3 SoCon thus far in 2004-05.

ETSU began the game on a tear with a 10-6 lead heading into the first media timeout of the half.  The defensive effort from the Bucs was one of the best of the season posting 13 steals compared to just 11 turnovers through the first half of play.  At the intermission, Wofford had tallied 22 turnovers with just four steals shooting 8-16 from the field.  For the Bucs in the first half of play, Mayes had a game-high 12 points shooting 5-7 for the half, while B.J. Banjo (Baltimore, Md.) managed six points, three assists and three steals as the Bucs took the 36-23 halftime lead.

The second half proved much the same as ETSU dominated both the offense and defensive side of the court.  Finishing the afternoon with a season-high 22 steals combined, the Lady Bucs offense shot 40 percent from the floor including a 20-34 effort from the charity stripe.

"I am very proud of the way our team played this afternoon.  After the long 12-day break it was great to see us win behind a great overall performance," ETSU head coach Karen Kemp said.  "Our entire team played a roll in today's win and it's very exciting to see how we continue to improve with each game."

Mayes lead all scorers with 23 points, while Banjo contributed 13 for the Bucs.  Michelle DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) went 2-3 from beyond the arc finishing the afternoon with nine points and three steals, while junior forward Candace Gibson (Warner Robins, Ga.) posted eight points, a game-high eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the ETSU victory.

The Bucs return to action in Memorial Center on Monday when they continue SoCon action hosting Furman.  The game is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start with pre-game radio coverage on the Mountain States Health Alliance Buccaneer Sports Network at 6:00 p.m.