ETSU women’s basketball rings in new year with 13-3 record

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 31, 2022) – The 2022 calendar year ended on a high note for ETSU women’s basketball inside Brooks Gym on Saturday, as the Bucs defeated Converse College in the final non-conference game of the season, 82-35.  

ETSU — the No. 22 ranked team in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 Poll — led wire-to-wire for its second-largest win margin of the season at 47 points.

The Bucs complete a historic non-conference schedule with a 13-3 record — the most non-conference wins in program history. The Southern Conference began sponsoring a women’s basketball championship in the 1983-84 season, where the team won 11 games and held the record up until 2022.

The calendar year also ends with ETSU’s longest win streak since the 2017-18 season with five in a row.

Sophomore guard Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) led the way with a career-high 17 points, while graduate guard Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) matched her career-high with seven assists. Sophomore post Jakhyia Davis (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the rebounding efforts with eight.

Eleven players appeared for ETSU in the New Year’s Eve special. All of them played at least eight minutes scored at least three points.

Converse College was led by Zahra Cross with 15 points. Saturday’s game does not count toward Converse’s record, but instead as a higher-level exhibition.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

First Quarter: ETSU built an early lead with a pair of 7-0 runs, going up 20-7 in the first 10 minutes. Converse College shot just 10 percent in the opening frame, going 1-10, while ETSU started 7-21 from the field for 33.3 percent. Sophomore Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) started with two three-pointers in the opening frame.

Second Quarter: If the first quarter lead wasn’t enough, ETSU increased it by 20 in the second quarter with a 24-4 scoring advantage sparked by a 19-0 run. The Bucs had a 13-0 advantage in points off turnovers, a 12-0 advantage in the paint, a 9-0 advantage in fast break points and a 14-0 advantage in bench scoring. ETSU forced Converse into 10 turnovers in the second quarter while only having two itself. True freshman Journee McDaniel (New Bern, N.C.) lit the scoresheet up with 10 points in the second quarter.

Third Quarter: Despite trailing by over 30 points at the break, Converse College continued to battle in the third quarter and limited ETSU to 15 points in the frame. ETSU’s defense continued keeping the clamps on though, holding the Valkyries to nine points on 3-11 shooting in the quarter. Six different players made up ETSU’s six third quarter baskets.

Fourth Quarter: ETSU extended the lead to 47 by the game’s end, led by eight points from Folley to secure her career-high 17 point performance. As a team, the Bucs had their best shooting quarter in the fourth, going 10-16 from the field for 62.5 percent. ETSU also went 3-3 behind the arc with two from Folley and one from Meleah Kirtner (Wytheville, Va.).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• ETSU shot 42.1 percent from the floor (32-76) and 47.4 percent behind the arc (9-19).

• The nine three-pointers are a single game season-high for the Blue and Gold.

• Converse was held scoreless behind the arc for over 30 minutes until hitting one early in the fourth quarter. The Valkyries finished 1-13 from downtown (7.7 percent) and 12-50 from the field (24 percent).

• ETSU scored in the first 24 seconds and never trailed, starting on a 7-0 run.

• The Bucs had a distinct advantage in turnover differential — 28-12. 

• ETSU scored 32 points off the 28 Converse turnovers.

• The Bucs finished with 16 steals — matching its single game season-high total.

• The ETSU defense never allowed a run of more than four points.

• ETSU owned the paint with a 44-12 scoring advantage and a 49-38 rebound advantage. 

• The Blue and Gold also improved to 6-1 at home today. The first three conference games are also at home.

• ETSU is now 12-0 when the opponent scores under 59 points and shoots under 40 percent. The Bucs are also 10-0 when out-shooting the opponent.

• ETSU has outrebounded the opponent and led at halftime in all 13 wins.

• The Bucs finish the month of December with an impressive 7-1 record this month. 

• ETSU is 3-0 in games on New Year’s Eve the last four seasons. Two of those wins are against Converse College — three years removed. The other came in 2020 against Newberry.

• ETSU also improves to a 3-0 record in Saturday games this season.

• ETSU has played three non-NCAA Division I opponents this season (including exhibitions) against Mars Hill, Virginia-Lynchburg and Converse College. ETSU won those games by a combined score of 264-102.

COMING UP NEXT

Southern Conference play begins with an in-state rivalry this coming Thursday, Jan. 5 as ETSU welcomes Chattanooga to Brooks Gym for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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