JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2007) - Freshman Siarre Evans' (Griffin, Ga.) game-high 26 points and a season-best 66.7 team shooting percentage (30-45) was still not enough to beat Jacksonville as the Lady Bucs dropped an 83-79 heartbreaker inside Swisher Gymnasium on Thursday night. ETSU fell to 14-10, 10-4 in the A-Sun, while Jacksonville moved to 15-8, 9-4.

            Despite the loss, ETSU had three others end in double figures as Brooke Wilhoit (Sevierville, Tenn.), Devin Thompson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Kelly Turman (Atlanta) all finished with 12 apiece. Jacksonville had five players reach double figures with Virginia Gregoire leading the way with 19.

            The Lady Bucs got off to a slow start as Jacksonville took an 11-5 lead into the first media timeout with 15:58 remaining in the half. However, Evans picked things up for ETSU as they posted an 8-2 run to tie the game at 13. Evans was on fire as she scored nine of the first 13 points for the Lady Bucs. From there ETSU gained a little momentum as they took a six point lead, 21-15, with 9:49 left before half. The momentum shifted to the Dolphins for the next 3:14 as they regained the lead with an 11-4 run. Jacksonville held the lead until a Thompson jumper with forty-three seconds left before the break gave the Lady Bucs a 34-32 advantage, marking their first since the 6:57 point. Evans sent ETSU into the locker room with a two-point lead, 36-34, as she drained a jumper with twelve seconds left.

            Evans was unstoppable in the first half as she finished six-of-eight from the field and led all scorers with 16 points. The Lady Bucs did a great job attacking the Dolphins as four of their players were on the bench with two or more fouls, including two starters. Both teams combined for 20 fouls in the half, while ETSU took advantage of its foul opportunities as they went 11-for-14 from the line, compared to only 1-of-5 from Jacksonville.

            In the second half, the Dolphins came out firing as they scored the first six points, giving them a 40-36 advantage. The Lady Bucs would not let that faze them as Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) hit a jumper and Wilhoit drained a long bomb from the top of the key to regain the lead, 41-40. ETSU's lead did not last long as Jacksonville rattled off eight straight points and took a 48-41 lead with 15:59 remaining. With the Dolphins leading 57-51, ETSU would post a 9-2 run to take the lead, thanks to a jumper from Turman with 9:27 left in the game. However, that would be the last time the Lady Bucs would lead as an Ashley Williams lay-up on the Dolphins next possession put the home team up for the remainder of the game. The game was tight down the stretch as Jacksonville could only build a four-point advantage, but ETSU could not capitalize on several scoring opportunities to take the lead. After trailing by six with 1:27 left, the Lady Bucs still had a chance to tie the game with fourteen seconds left, but a Wilhoit turnover ended the game for ETSU.

            For the contest, the Lady Bucs shot 66.7 percentage (30-45) compared to the Dolphins finishing at 47.7 percent (31-65). Turnovers cost ETSU as they coughed the ball up 27 times, leading to 34 Jacksonville points. Jacksonville won the battle of the boards, 30-26, tying the worst rebounding performance by the Lady Bucs since they grabbed 26 in the season-opener against #2 North Carolina. The loss marked the first time since Feb. 4, 2006 (Florida Atlantic) when ETSU did not win after scoring at least 70 points.