ETSU women’s basketball falls in defensive battle

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2023) – The ETSU women’s basketball team ran out of juice in the closing moments of a defensive battle against UNCG on Thursday inside Fleming Gymnasium, falling 58-49 in Greensboro.

The loss moves ETSU to a 21-8 overall record and an 8-5 record in league play — one game back of the conference leaders and into a tie for third with Mercer with one game remaining. Meanwhile, UNCG improves to 14-13 overall and one game back of ETSU at 7-6.

The lead changed six times in what proved to be a back-and-forth affair full of lead changing buzzer-beaters, double-digit runs and tenacious defense. In the end, UNCG overcame an 11-0 run by ETSU early in the fourth quarter with a 20-9 scoring advantage in the final frame.

Graduate guard Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) nearly had a double-double for ETSU with 14 points and nine rebounds, while adding four assists. Sophomore guard Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) also had 14 points with five rebounds.

UNCG was led by graduate transfer Akira Wiggins with 20 points, while Isys Grady had a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. She tied ETSU sophomore Jakhyia Davis (Knoxville, Tenn.) with a game-high 12 boards — matching her season high last set at Wofford.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: The game started as a defensive struggle, as ETSU made just one of its first 10 field goal attempts, but trailed just 7-4 at the opening media timeout with strong defense. The Bucs would take their first lead of the game at the very last moment of the frame, as Thomas sprinted full court and hit Jaileyah Cotton (Bardstown, Ky.) in the corner for the go-ahead three — the first of her career.

Second Quarter: The second quarter had many similarities to the first quarter, as the defensives took center stage and held each other to under 30 percent shooting. Much like the way UNCG led most of the first quarter, ETSU lead nearly the entire second quarter. But, UNCG would give ETSU a taste of its own medicine with a buzzer beating triple to take a 21-20 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter: Contrary to the first half, ETSU made four of its first five baskets to begin the second half. What started as an and-one layup opportunity for Davis at the 8:41 mark turned in to a 7-0 for the Bucs by the 8:00 mark, forcing a timeout by UNCG. The Spartans came out strong from that, leading 38-31 to force a timeout from Brenda Mock Brown. The timeout was well-spent as ETSU took the lead with a 9-0 run finished off by a driving layup near the buzzer from Thomas.

Fourth Quarter: After making just two free throws all game before the fourth quarter, UNCG went 7-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch while shooting 6-9 from the floor to inch away from the Bucs in what was a low-scoring game. The Bucs were held scoreless from downtown in the fourth quarter, while shooting 4-13 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Thursday’s game saw six lead changes and six tied scores.

• UNCG led for 18:54 of game time, while ETSU led for 16:10.

• Neither team led by double digits until UNCG went up by 10 with under two minutes to go. ETSU’s largest lead was six with 4:56 to go in the second quarter.

• Both teams had double-digit scoring runs. ETSU’s longest run was an 11-0 run that started in the third quarter and ended early in the fourth quarter, flipping a 38-31 deficit into a 42-38 lead.

• UNCG finished at 41.5 percent shooting from the floor (22-53) while ETSU finished 33.3 percent (18-54).

• The Spartans had just two made free throws going into the final frame, but finished 7-10 in the fourth quarter to ice the game. ETSU finished with 10 free throws, including nine in the first three quarters.

• ETSU had the slight advantage in rebounding with a 40-37 margin.

• Both teams had 28 points in the paint. UNCG added 14 second chance points, while ETSU had 10.

• ETSU had 19 turnovers — its highest total in the last 16 games. On the flipside, ETSU forced 16 takeaways.

• Today marked just the third road loss for ETSU, falling to 8-3 in road games and 11-4 when factoring in neutral site games.

• Both teams put win streaks on the line today. UNCG earned its fourth straight win, while snapping a four-game win streak for ETSU in the process.

COMING UP NEXT

With seeding implications at stake, ETSU closes the regular season at Western Carolina on Saturday at 7 p.m. 

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