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Record-setting crowd witness Lady Bucs open season with 24-point win over in-state rival
After playing two tightly contested games against
The Lady Bucs turned the page and then some, as ETSU derailed the Lady Mocs in front of a record-setting 3,518 fans, 85-61, on Friday night inside
Tonight also marked the third straight season the Lady Bucs had a successful "Pack the House" event. Each year ETSU has set a new single-season attendance record - and after tallying 3,459 fans against nationally-ranked Vanderbilt a year ago - the Lady Bucs topped that mark with 3,518 this evening.
"Our crowd was amazing and the team fed off their support," commented head ETSU women's basketball coach Karen Kemp. "It was great to see the fans get excited and feed off the energy. Hopefully the fans enjoyed what they saw, and come back to support us for the rest of our home schedule."
Fans had a great incentive on Friday night, as one lucky fan went home with $1,200 cash after draining six three-pointers during a "Shoot for Cash" promotion during one of the media timeouts. In addition, all season long the ETSU students have the opportunity to win a Nintendo Wii, as well as increase their chances to win $1,000 cash at the last regular season home game. Fans were also treated to a special pre-game tailgate party, where they enjoyed free food, games and inflatables prior to the 7 p.m. tip.
ETSU (1-0) was led by the hot hand of senior TaRonda Wiles (
"If someone would have come up to me earlier in the day and said we would beat Chattanooga by 20 or more points; I would have told them they were out of their mind," Kemp, who has her Lady Bucs off to a 1-0 mark for the first time since the start of the 2005-06 season when ETSU knocked off Mississippi State. "I was a little afraid we might come out flat, because in our two exhibition games I felt like we did come out sluggish. However, these young ladies came out prepared and ready to win a basketball game tonight."
The Lady Bucs only had one flaw in the first half, as
From there, the Lady Bucs continued to nail threes, and piled it on their in-state rival. Eventually ETSU went ahead, 45-18, when
The Lady Bucs made 18 field goals (37 attempts) in the opening stanza, with nine coming from beyond the arc. In addition, ETSU held a plus-9 advantage on the boards - 28 to 19 - and forced the visitors into seven turnovers, resulting into eight points on the offensive end.
In the second half,
However, after
For the game, the Lady Bucs shot 44.4 percent from the field (32-72), and out-rebounded the Lady Mocs - 50 to 45. ETSU also capitalized on its long range shooting, as the Lady Bucs were 10-for-20 from 3-point land. Meanwhile, the Lady Buccaneer defense forced
Joining Wiles and
A pair of Lady Buccaneer freshmen also stepped up their ETSU debuts. Tosha Austin (
The Lady Bucs now make a quick turnaround, as they hit the road for a four-game road swing, beginning Sunday afternoon at
For more information on Lady Buccaneer basketball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.