ETSU women’s basketball travels to Charleston Southern

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Dec. 13, 2022) – The only two “Buccaneers” in NCAA Division I will meet in women’s basketball action on Wednesday, as ETSU travels to Charleston Southern for a 6 p.m. tip-off in the Palmetto State.

Wednesday’s game will start a three-game stretch of games against Big South Conference opponents, while also marking the first visit to Charleston Southern since 1989.

MATCHUP INFO AND LINKS

Wednesday, Dec. 14 – ETSU vs. Charleston Southern – 6:00 p.m. – Charleston, S.C.

ESPN+ / Live Stats / Tickets

ABOUT THE ETSU BUCS

• ETSU enters with an 8-3 record — the best 11-game start since 2005.

• A win tomorrow would match the most non-conference wins in a season since 1989 with nine.

• The Bucs had a four-game win streak snapped on Sunday against Bowling Green the last time out, as the College Insider Mid-Major Poll’s No. 14 team won 82-64 inside Brooks Gym.

• ETSU owns a 2-0 record in games after a loss. After each of the first two losses this season, the Blue and Gold went on to win four straight games.

• ETSU has the 30th best scoring defense in the nation with 54.5 points allowed per game.

• The Bucs are the second-ranked rebounding and free throw shooting team in the Southern Conference with a +7.6 rebounding margin and a 75.5 team percentage at the charity stripe (108-143).

• Graduate guard Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) leads the Bucs with 14.5 points per game. She scored her 1,000th career point in the season opener against No. 1 South Carolina and ranks among the top six scorers in the SoCon this season.

• Sophomore guard Nevaeh Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) is averaging 10.8 PPG off the bench and ranks 15th in the conference in scoring. She also has a team-high 14 steals and 25 assists.

• ETSU’s two-headed monster on the boards has been true freshman Journee McDaniel (New Bern, N.C.) and graduate Jayla Ruffus-Milner (North Hills, Calif.). Both players rank among the top eight of the SoCon with 6.9 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively.

• Ruffus-Milner scored her 400th career point on Sunday against Bowling Green. She and Thomas are both 11 rebounds away from the 400-career milestone.

• Sophomore point guard Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) leads the team with 29.5 minutes per game and averaged 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She also ranks second on the squad with 23 assists.

• Sophomore Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) is the only other player outside of Brown and Thomas to lead ETSU in scoring this season, scoring 11 in the win over UC San Diego. Moore is one of five returners from last season.

• Post player Jakhyia Davis (Knoxville, Tenn.) joins Moore as the only three-year members of the program this season. Davis is a sparkplug off the bench with a steady 5.3 PPG and 5.6 RPG.

• Folley, Thomas, Moore, McDaniel and Ruffus-Milner has started each of the last 10 games together.

• The Blue and Gold are led by first year Coach Brenda Mock Brown, who took over in August. Despite a late arrival to campus, Mock has guided the Bucs to a successful 8-3 record. The eight wins have already surpassed last season’s win total.

• This season, ETSU will seek its first winning campaign and postseason appearance since 2018, where the team finished 20-13 overall, 11-3 in the SoCon and with an appearance in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). ETSU has made three NCAA tournament appearances all-time (2008, 2009, 2010) and four WNIT appearances (1995, 2006, 2014, 2018).

ABOUT THE CSU BUCS

• Charleston Southern enters with a 2-7 overall record.

• Last time out, CSU made the short trip to College of Charleston on Dec. 4, falling 79-48.

• The Bucs have two wins — one in the season opener against Georgia College and one the day before Thanksgiving against fellow SoCon member Western Carolina.

• CSU averages 51.1 PPG while giving up 74.2 PPG.

• Freshman Catherine Alben led the way in both wins and leads the team this season with 9.2 points per game.

• Redshirt junior Kennedi Jackson is the key player in the post with 7.9 PPG and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.

• The Bucs are led by second year head coach Clarisse Garcia.

BATTLE OF THE BUCS - SERIES HISTORY

• Wednesday will be just the second meeting between the only two teams in NCAA Division I that use the Buccaneer mascot name.

• The first meeting took place on Jan. 6, 1989. ETSU won the game 99-68 in Charleston.

• At that time, Charleston Southern was known as Baptist College at Charleston before changing to its current name in 1990.

• ETSU has a 65-38 all-time record against Big South Conference opponents.

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