Bucs look to bounce back from Friday’s loss to UNCW

WILMINGTON, N.C. (Dec. 19, 2014) – Following a 61-48 loss to invitational host UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon, the ETSU women’s basketball team will play a second and final game in the 2014 Seahawks Hampton Inn Christmas Invitational with a matchup against Jacksonville State on Saturday at noon inside Trask Coliseum.

This will be the first all-time meeting between the two teams.

Against UNCW, the Bucs (7-5) had their four-game winning streak snapped and overall had trouble establishing a rhythm on offense. After scoring 48 points in the first half on Monday at Morehead State, the Blue & Gold was limited to 28 in the first half and an identical 48 for the game versus the Seahawks. Defensively, the Bucs did hold UNCW to 35 percent shooting and 61 total points – 10 below ETSU’s season defensive average – but inefficiency on offense as well as 21 turnovers and being outrebounded, 51-40, proved costly. The Blue & Gold was led by Serena Clark’s (Stone Mountain, Ga.) fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds. In addition to Clark’s double-double, senior forward Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) added eight points and 13 rebounds while freshman point guard Tianna Tarter (Johnson City, Tenn.) posted eight points.

The JSU Gamecocks (7-3) snapped a two-game losing skid with a 70-43 win over Charleston Southern in their first game in the 2014 Seahawks Hampton Inn Christmas Invitational on Friday. JSU shot the ball at a 45 percent clip in the first half to jump ahead to a double-digit advantage and, over the course of the game, held the CSU Buccaneers to 28 percent (18-of-64) shooting. Jacksonville State was paced by a game-high 21 points from junior guard Destany McLin and also had senior center Miranda Cantrell and sophomore guard Briana Benson in double figures with 15 and 12, respectively.

ETSU remains as the Southern Conference’s highest-scoring team with 73.9 points per game. The Bucs are also shooting an efficient 45 percent from the field – good for second in the league – and are holding opponents to a SoCon-best 25 percent shooting behind the arc. The Blue & Gold is also blocking shots at a 4.3 per game rate which is second in the conference.

Four of ETSU’s five starters are averaging double-figures; highlighted by Shamauria Bridges’ (Miramar, Fla.) 15.4 points per contest. Bridges’ points-per-game average ranks fourth-best in the league and her 3.5 three-point makes per game is best in the conference. In addition, Mitchell’s 9.5 rebounds per contest – including 4.1 offensive boards per -- is second in the SoCon and Tarter’s 3.8 assists per contest ranks second in the league. Additionally, Maria Bond (Macon, Ga.), Mitchell and Tarter each rank in the top five in the SoCon in field goal percentage with all three above 49 percent from the field.

For more information on ETSU women’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s hoops link. Season tickets can be purchased here. Follow along with the Bucs on social media with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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