ETSU women's basketball posts program’s all-time largest margin of victory with 69-point win

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 4, 2022) – Records were shattered on Sunday inside Brooks Gym, as ETSU women’s basketball continued its historic season with a 95-26 win over Virginia University of Lynchburg on Sunday inside Brooks Gym.

The Bucs dominated all phases of the game, breaking the school record for both margin of victory (69) and fewest points allowed (26) on Sunday. The previous margin of victory record of 60 was set in 1994 against Covenant, while the previous points allowed record of 29 was set against Mercer in 2006.

ETSU also scored its highest point total since 2018 with 95 points, last doing so in a 95-64 win over rival Appalachian State in Brooks Gym. Today, three Buccaneer players scored in double figures and 11 players contributed to the scoring.

The Bucs now own an 8-2 overall record to continue their best season start since 1994. Today’s game marked the first of two non-NCAA Division I games on ETSU’s schedule. The Southern Conference is now 12-0 against non-D1 teams this season.

Sophomore Nevaeh Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) led the team in scoring with 18 points, while a pair of freshmen had breakout games in Journee McDaniel (New Bern, N.C.) and Ella Boyle (Roswell, Ga.). McDaniel notched her first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Boyle had new career bests of 15 points and eight rebounds.

All 13 players dressed made an appearance for ETSU. Joining Boyle and McDaniel with career point or rebound totals was Meleah Kirtner (Wytheville, Va.) with five points and 10 rebounds, Meghan Downing (New Madison, Ohio) with eight points and three rebounds, Jaileyah Cotton (Bardstown, Ky.) with four rebounds, Paris McCarthy (Castleisland, Ireland) with six points, and Sarah Thompson (Gate City, Va.) with seven rebounds.

Renee Clines was the leading scorer for Virginia Lynchburg with 15 points. VUL falls to 0-7 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: The game got off to a rare start, as the Bucs had two points before the opening tip. Graduate guard Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) sank two free throws before the jump ball due to an administrative technical for a delay in submitting the starting lineup by Virginia Lynchburg. Thomas went on to score a pair of triples for eight first quarter points.

Second Quarter: ETSU outscored VUL 21-5 in the second frame. Ten different players entered the scoring book by the first media timeout of the second quarter.

Third Quarter: The third quarter was the most dominant of the game, as ETSU outscored VUL 26-5 to take a 74-20 lead. Nevaeh Brown had 10 points on 4-4 shooting in the third quarter, while Sarah Thompson had a team-high 17 +/- rating in the quarter. 

Fourth Quarter: The final frame brought more of the same, as ETSU outscored the Dragons 21-6 to finish off a wire-to-wire 69 point victory. Seven players scored in the fourth quarter for ETSU with Paris McCarthy playing all 10 minutes of the frame.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Bucs are now 4-0 in Sunday games and 4-0 inside Brooks Gym.

• ETSU is back on a four-game win streak after winning four in a row from Nov. 11-20.

• ETSU had 24 assists in the game with 10 players contributing at least one. Jiselle Thomas led with five, while Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) added four. The all-time single game record is 33 set against Western Carolina in 2007.

• ETSU’s defense continues to impress, limiting Virginia Lynchburg to five less points than it did SEC foe Vanderbilt this past Thursday. The Bucs are among the national leaders in points allowed per game with four straight game of under 50 points allowed.

• The Bucs totaled 16 steals, swatted six blocks and forced 23 VUL turnovers. Boyle, Brown, McDaniel and Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) all had three steals each, while Downing had three blocks.

• ETSU had a stellar 63-20 advantage on the boards with 29 offensive rebounds.

• The Bucs had 62 points off the bench. Virginia Lynchburg relied heavily on its starters and did not score any bench points.

• ETSU had 25 fast break points without allowing any fast break buckets at the other end.

• The Bucs won the paint with a 60-8 advantage.

• The Blue and Gold scored 29 second chance points on 29 offensive boards.

• ETSU had 41 points off turnovers, while VUL had just four.

• As a team, ETSU shot 38-78 from the floor for 48.7 percent, while making seven three-point baskets. The Dragons shot 11-53 for 20.8 percent and went 3-13 behind the arc. 

• ETSU committed just five fouls and only sent VUL to the line one time.

COMING UP NEXT

Due to final exams this week, the Bucs will have seven days away from competition and will resume play next Sunday, Dec. 11 against Bowling Green. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside Brooks Gym.

For more information on Buccaneer women’s hoops, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s basketball page.