JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- East Tennessee State will begin its 33rd season of women's basketball Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m. when they travel to Cookeville, Tenn to face the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

Game Information:

East Tennessee State Lady Bucs (0-0) at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (0-0)

Tuesday, November 21, 2000, 8:00 p.m.

Eblen Center (10,152), Cookeville, Tenn.

Game Notes:

The Last Time Out: Chris Forman scored a game-high 17 points and dished out a game-high five assists to lead the ETSU Lady Bucs to a 71-47 exhibition victory over the Smoky Mountain Swarm Nov. 12 from Brooks Gym ... The Lady Buc defense shut down the Swarm, holding them to 17-61 shooting (.279), including just 6-28 in the second half (.214). The Swarm was also pressured into making 30 turnovers compared to the Lady Bucs 17 ... Erin Thurman (11 points) and guard Racquel Ellis (10 points, three steals) also scored in double digits for the Lady Bucs.

Bucs against the Golden Eagles: The Lady Bucs are 1-15 against the all-time against the Golden Eagles and 0-2 in the Karen Kemp era ... The lone win for ETSU in the series came during the 1980-81 season (ETSU 61, Tennessee Tech 57) ... The teams last met on Nov. 24, 1998 from Cookeville, Tenn. with Tennessee Tech coming up victorious 87-70 ... Leslie Burleson was on fire, hitting on 7-8 shots and 5-6 from three-point range to score a game-high and career-high 21 points.

Home Court Advantage ... In the regime of ETSU head coach Karen Kemp, the Lady Bucs have a 44-21 home record including a 10-0 home season in 1994-95 and a 10-1 home record last season .. The only loss coming to SoCon regular-season champion Chattanooga ... In each of the last five seasons, the Lady Bucs' home record has improved: 1995-96: 4-7 1996-97: 5-6 1997-98: 6-6 1998-99: 9-1 1999-00: 10-1

Home Sweet Dome: The Lady Bucs' moved their home territory this season from Brooks Gym to the Memorial Center ... The Lady Bucs' however will play one game in Brooks Gym this season, Jan. 24 against Furman.

SoCon Consistency: The Lady Bucs' finished 12-6 last season in the Southern Conference ... The 12 wins tied a school record for conference wins set in 1998-99 when the Lady Bucs finished 12-5.

Number Change: Sophomore guard Samantha Copeland makes the switch from number 34 to 32 for the 2000-01 season.

Success in High Numbers: Last winter, the Lady Bucs were 13-2 when scoring 70-or-more points; 9-0 when scoring 80-or-more points ... The Lady Bucs were 7-1 when scoring 80-or-more points and 14-3 when scoirng 70-or-more points in 1998-99.

The Head Coach: Seventh-year head coach Karen Kemp has compiled a 83-82 (.503) record at ETSU ... She is the second winningest coach in Lady Buc basketball history and trails first-place Susan Yow by 35 victories ... Kemp passed former coach Debbie Richardson for second place on the all-time list with a 90-63 win over Western Carolina on February 22, 2000.

Lady Bucs in the Classroom: Three Lady Bucs, Angie Fickes, Chris Forman and Rachel Glass made the Southern Conference academic honor roll last season ... More impessively, the three guards were all repeat selections ... It was Forman's third such honor and Glass and Fickes' second ... This year, Forman will attempt to become the first Lady Buc to make the SoCon honor roll all four years.

The Lady Bucs on the Airwaves: The Lady Bucs' January 2nd game against Chattanooga will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast at 5:00 p.m. ... It is a part of an ETSU/Chattanooga doubleheader on CSS as the men's game between the two teams will also be televised following the women's matchup.

Lady Bucs Tabbed Fifth: ETSU was picked fifth by Southern Conference coaches in the SoCon preseason coaches poll ... The Lady Bucs finished third last season in the final conference standings.

Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll:

Teams (first place votes in parentheses) Votes

Chattanooga (9) 81

UNC Greensboro (1) 71

Furman 64

Georgia Southern 57

East Tennessee State 50

Appalachian State 40

Davidson 26

Wofford 26

Western Carolina 22

College of Charleston 12