RICHMOND, Ky. (Dec. 30, 2006) - Jenny Norman (Peachtree City, Ga.) scored a career-high 17 points and Brooke Wilhoit (Sevierville, Tenn.) sank six threes as the ETSU women's basketball defeated Eastern Kentucky, 83-73, Saturday evening inside McBrayer Arena. The Lady Bucs picked up their first-ever win against the Lady Colonels on their home floor, and move to 6-6 while EKU falls to 5-8.

Norman and Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) stormed out in the second half as they scored 12 of the first 14 points for ETSU. DeVault's three-pointer at the 14:37 mark gave the Lady Bucs their largest lead of the game at 57-36.

An 8-0 run by the Lady Colonels cut the deficit to 57-44, but ETSU would rattle off five unanswered points to push their lead back to 18. Eastern Kentucky would get to within 10 on two separate occasions, but the Lady Bucs would quickly respond both times and would not let the host team get back into the game.

The Lady Bucs finished the game hitting a season-best 11 three-point field goals and shot 55.0 percent (11-20) from beyond the arc. ETSU had four players score in double figures, with DeVault and Wilhoit leading the way with 18 a piece. Freshman Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) added her second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Colonels also had four of its players reach double figures as Ashley Cazee led the way with 16.

In the first half, the Lady Bucs held the Lady Colonels to one field goal in the first eight minutes, and opened up to a 16-5 lead with 12:48 remaining. The hot hand of Wilhoit extended the ETSU lead to its largest of the half at 24-10, as she hit her fourth three-point field goal at the 10:05 mark. Eastern Kentucky would fire right back during the next five and a half minutes as they used an 18-8 run to cut the lead at 32-28. The Lady Bucs would end the half with a run of their own (11-2) in the final four minutes, and went into the break with a 43-30 advantage.

Seven of the nine ETSU players who saw action in the half scored, with Wilhoit leading all scorers with 12 points and was four-of-six from beyond on the arc. Andrea Jenkins led the Lady Colonels with seven points. Turnovers helped ETSU in the first stanza as they forced 18 and converted them into 24 points. The Lady Bucs shot 40.0 percent (16-40) from the field, while Eastern Kentucky finished with a 47.6 shooting percentage (10-21). 

After playing five of their last six games on the road, the Lady Bucs will ring in the New Year at home on Thursday, Jan. 4 when they host conference foe Lipscomb. Tip is set for 4:45 p.m. in Memorial Center, and a live video stream will be available by visiting http://etsustream.intellithought.net/.