Saturday, January 07, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 7, 2006) - After trailing for the entire first half, the Lady Bucs unleashed a stellar second-half performance to down Jacksonville, 84-72.  B.J. Banjo (Baltimore, Md.) paced ETSU with a game-high 25 points, followed by Kelly Turman (Atlanta, Ga.) with a season-best 20, and Nichelle Akers (Sumter, S.C.) with 16.      

With the win, ETSU improves to 9-3 with its fourth-straight win, and remains perfect in A-Sun action at 5-0.  Jacksonville drops to 3-8 overall, 0-4 in the A-Sun.

The Lady Bucs were once again aided by a sensational 21-for-24 performance from the free-throw line.  Individually, Banjo nailed 9-for-10 at the line, while Turman sunk 7-of-8. 

ETSU didn't gain its first lead of the game until the 16:10 mark of the second half, when a short jumper by Turman made the score 49-48.  The Lady Bucs rolled from there, as Banjo caught fire, tallying 21 points in the half.

ETSU would extend the lead to as many as 20, when Banjo hit a pair of free throws with 1:45 to go, making the score 84-64.

The Dolphins surged to a double-digit lead with 13:00 to go in the first half, as JU went up 19-9 on a basket by Precious Robinson.  Robison had eight points in the game's first seven minutes.  Nichelle Akers kept the Lady Bucs in it early, with six of ETSU's first nine points. 

Akers would explode for 14 first-half points to the lead the Lady Bucs, only out-distanced by a stellar 18-point effort by JU's Sheena Carpenter.  Carpenter would end up with a team-high 24 points, followed by Robinson with 17.

The Lady Bucs took advantage of the Dolphins early foul trouble, which put ETSU in the bonus before the period's halfway mark.  ETSU made good on nine of its first 10 tries at the free throw line, including two perfect trips by sophomore Turman.

The Lady Bucs fought back to tie the score at 34, on a bucket by Turman at the 3:31 mark.  The Dolphins would answer with six quick points, bringing the score to 40-34, but the Lady Bucs would make a run of their own, as a Turman three tied the game at 40.  Turman had 11 in the frame.

Jacksonville looked to have closed the half with a three by Carpenter, but the Bucs weren't finished, as Alisha Holmes (Orangeburg, S.C.) found Akers under the basket to bring ETSU within one, at 43-42, heading into the locker room.

The Dolphin offense was hot in the first half, tallying 58.1 percent from the field and 75 percent from long distance.  ETSU wasn't too far behind, shooting 44.1 percent, and 42.9 from three.

The Lady Bucs will be back in Johnson City on Jan. 12, when they take on Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m., in Memorial Center.  Following the home-conference tilt, ETSU hits the road again to face A-Sun foe Kennesaw State on Jan. 16.