JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 31, 2014) – The ETSU women’s basketball team will kickoff the 2014-15 season on Saturday with an exhibition matchup versus Milligan College at noon inside newly-renovated Brooks Gym.

Entering this new season, the Bucs were picked to finish sixth in the Southern Conference by the league’s coaches in a preseason poll. The Blue & Gold will return eight letterwinners from a team that finished 9-21 overall last year in the first season of the Brittney Ezell era at ETSU. Included in these returners are five players that started 15 or more games a year ago. Absent from this list, but primed for a return to form in 2014-15, is redshirt senior Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) who missed the entirety of last season due to an injury suffered in the first game of the year. The former all-conference performer is currently on the brink of becoming the 21^st member of ETSU women’s basketball’s 1,000-point club with 993 career points.

Joining Mitchell on the front line this season will be fellow redshirt senior Serena Clark (Stone Mountain, Ga.) who averaged a team leading 10.6 points and 10.0 rebounds a year ago and was recently named a member of the preseason All-Southern Conference Team by the league’s coaches. Also anchoring the post will be senior Maria Bond (Macon, Ga.) who posted 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season.

In the backcourt, the Bucs will feature junior guard Chandler Christopher (Greeneville, Tenn.) who recorded 7.6 points and dished out a team-leading 2.2 assists per game last year. Also, on the perimeter, sophomore sharpshooter Shamauria Bridges (Miramar, Fla.) will return following a solid freshman season in which the guard drained a team-high 44 three-pointers in 29 games played.

Milligan enters the 2014-15 campaign as a preseason selection to finish fourth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference after going 18-13 overall (12-8 AAC) and placing fourth in the league standings last season.

For more information on ETSU women’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s hoops link. Learn more about the 2014-15 team here. Season tickets can be purchased here.

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