Wednesday, November 19, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 19, 2008) - The hardware is in and now its time to be delivered.

The ETSU women's basketball team will be honored with a special halftime ceremony during the men's game versus Wingate Thursday night, as the Lady Buccaneers receive their 2008 Atlantic Sun Championship rings.

ETSU made history last season - becoming the first team in program history to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament - and along the way the Lady Buccaneers smashed four school records. The Lady Bucs broke the single-season record for points (2,478) and rebounds (1,360), and set the single-game steals record with 24 thefts versus Campbell as well as setting the new blocks record with 13 against UNC Asheville. ETSU also tied the all-time single-season wins mark with 21 victories.

Throughout the 2007-08 season the Lady Bucs made some noise by knocking off SEC contender Alabama, snapping Jacksonville's program-record 17-game home winning streak, and blasted in-state conference rival Belmont by 43, 102-59. In total, ETSU cruised through the league with a 14-2 mark, earning the number one seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. In Nashville, ETSU bounced Mercer, Lipscomb and Jacksonville en route to cutting down the nets inside Lipscomb's Allen Arena.

At the end of the season, eight members of the 2007-08 Lady Buccaneer team were recognized for their hard work both on and off the court. Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) and Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) were each named First Team All-Atlantic Sun and Atlantic Sun All-Tournament selections, while head coach Karen Kemp was tabbed Coach of the Year by her peers. In addition, TaRonda Wiles (Danville, Va.) and Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) were also selected to the All-Tournament Team - including Belcher being named Tournament MVP after averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals in the three games. Wiles and Belcher also stood out in the classroom as they joined teammates Devin Thompson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Kami Phillips (Augusta, Ga.) and Tara Davis (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) on the A-Sun All-Academic list.

After receiving their hardware, the 2008-09 Lady Buccaneer squad will gear up for a tough challenge when 12^th-ranked Vanderbilt visits Memorial Center on Friday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and ETSU looks to "Pack the House" as they try to break the all-time single-game attendance record.

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