Folley nets career-high, Bucs defeat conference leader

HOMEWOOD, Ala. (Feb. 9, 2023) – ETSU women’s basketball made history on Thursday night, defeating Southern Conference leader Samford by a 75-63 final inside the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Ala. 

The victory matches an ETSU school record for win improvement over two seasons, as ETSU now has 12 more wins than last season. The previous school record was set between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, going from nine wins to 21 wins in that span.

The Bucs now own an 18-7 overall record with tonight’s win. ETSU also improves to 5-4 in league play. Entering atop the league standings, Samford drops to 13-11 overall and 7-3 in the conference.

ETSU scored within the first 30 seconds of the game on a three-pointer from Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire. Despite leading by double digits in the first half, Samford pulled within two at the end of the third quarter (50-48). The Bucs pulled away from there, outscoring the Bulldogs by 10 in the final frame.

The Bucs set a new season-high for three-pointer with 12 in the contest — breaking the previous high late in the first half with 10 early three-pointers. The previous high of nine was set twice this season — once against Converse and once at Wofford.

Sophomore Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) set a new career-high with 28 points, shooting 11-17 from the floor and 4-6 behind the arc. Nevaeh Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) had her 20th double digit scoring effort this season in 25 games, finishing with 15 points and seven boards.

Freshman post Meghan Downing (New Madison, Ohio) also had a career game with seven rebounds. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: ETSU started hot in the first quarter, taking a 17-6 lead at the first media timeout with 3:37 remaining. Samford struck back with a 7-0 run to make it 17-13, but the Bucs had the last blow of the quarter with a corner triple from Thomas to make it 20-13. Thomas, Folley and Moore had 16 of the 20 points, combining to go 4-9 behind the arc. As a team, the Bucs shot 47 percent in the first quarter.

Second Quarter: ETSU extended that 3-0 run to an 11-0 run with the first eight points of the frame, including two triples from Folley. ETSU set a new season-high with 10 three-pointers in the first half, sparked by a personal 9-0 run with three downtown buckets from Brown. It wasn’t all Bucs though, as Samford worked back into it with a 12-2 run. Thomas snapped the run with the team’s 10th made three, setting the new season high. ETSU led 42-35 with both teams shooting above 44 percent to end the frame.

Third Quarter: The Bucs clang to its third quarter lead through the first media timeout of the second half, remaining ahead 48-41 with four points from Folley. Samford worked back in it with high-percentage shooting, pulling within two at 50-48 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter: Folley was the key factor for ETSU in the fourth quarter, starting 4-4 from the floor with a three to start with nine fourth quarter points. She later iced the game with two free throws to finish with a career-high 28 points. Both teams stayed above 60 percent shooting in the final frame, with ETSU going 8-13 from the floor.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Bucs set a new season high with 12 three-pointers on 12-25 shooting behind the arc. Samford shot just 3-12 from downtown.

• Tonight’s win marked the first time ETSU has defeated an opponent that shot 50 percent or higher. Samford finished 24-48 from the floor for 50 percent, including 34 points in the paint.

• The Bucs finished 25-63 from the floor for 39.7 percent. ETSU attempted 15 more shots.

• The Blue and Gold also went 13-16 from the line for 81 percent. Samford was 12-22 for 55 percent.

• ETSU scored 70+ points for the seventh time this season and is 7-0 when doing so. This includes four of the last five games.

• The Bucs had a 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

• ETSU forced 15 takeaways while limiting itself to just seven turnovers. The Bucs are now averaging under 10 turnovers over the last 12 games.

• Both teams combined for just six fast break points.

• Rebounding was nearly even, with ETSU owning a 36-34 advantage.

• The Bucs are now 7-2 on the road and 10-3 when adding in neutral site games.

• The win was ETSU’s first at Samford since 2018.

• The two teams have split the last six meetings.

COMING UP NEXT

The Bucs now head to Macon for a date with Mercer on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

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