ETSU advances to face Chattanooga tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (March 2, 2023) – One small step towards history. One giant leap for victory.

The ETSU women’s basketball team is moving on to the semifinal round of the 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Championship with a 63-47 win over Samford on Thursday inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in North Carolina.

The Bucs now move to the semifinal round of the tournament and will face No. 2 Chattanooga tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. The winner will advance to the championship final set for Sunday at 12 p.m.

The win not only keeps ETSU’s hopes of a first SoCon championship alive, but also ties the program record for most wins in a single season at 23. The last team to accomplish this was the 2009-10 team, who is also the last ETSU women’s basketball team to earn a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The turning point of the game came in the second half, as ETSU went from shooting 31 percent in the first half to almost 60 percent the rest of the way. With a four point lead, ETSU cruised to a double-digit lead and locked down the opposite rim en route to the semifinals.

Three players scored in double figures for ETSU, led by a monster game from sophomore post Jakhyia Davis (Knoxville, Tenn.) with 20 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Davis is two years removed from ETSU’s last quarterfinal win — also against Samford — where she scored 21 points to lead in that game.

The two-headed monster of Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) and Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) combined for 35 points, with Thomas scoring 18 on 8-14 shooting and Folley scoring 17 on 7-17 shooting. The pair combined for all five of ETSU’s three-pointers and each had five rebounds.

Per the usual this season, defensive play was crucial to victory. Nevaeh Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) was a large part of that effort with her guarding of SoCon Media Player of the Year Andrea Bailey, while adding eight points and seven rebounds in the effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: Samford won the tip and had the first bucket of the game, but ETSU went on an 8-0 run powered by three-pointers from Folley and Thomas, as well as a second-chance bucket from Davis sandwiched in between. Samford went on a 6-0 run of its own to re-tie the game at 8-8 by the first media timeout. Tied later at 11-11, SoCon Media Player of the Year Andrea Bailey scored the go-ahead basket for Samford near the first quarter buzzer.

Second Quarter: Davis did the early scoring in the second quarter, keeping the Bucs on pace with Samford. Just before the media timeout, Folley nailed a three-pointer on an assist from Thomas to make it 20-17 right before the media timeout. The lead see-sawed a couple of times after that, but settled on a 28-24 lead for ETSU following a pair of ETSU buckets from Brown. The lead changed five times in the first half.

Third Quarter: ETSU was the first team to take a double-digit lead, going up by 10 near the end of the third quarter on a layup from Davis to make it 43-33. A second-chance layup made by Folley pushed it to 45-33 as the frame came to a close. ETSU shot over 50 percent in the quarter, going 9-17, while limiting Samford to just three field goals. Davis had six points and four rebounds in the frame alone.

Fourth Quarter: The Bucs brought it home in the fourth quarter, shooting 8-12 while holding Samford to 4-10 shooting in the frame. Davis accomplished the double-double late in the frame, scoring eight more points and adding the final two rebounds she needed.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU shot 28-65 from the field (43.1 percent) while holding Samford to just 18-47 for 38.3 percent.

• Despite only going 2-2 from the free throw line and not attempting a free throw until the fourth quarter, the Bucs found a double-digit advantage with 10 more field goals than Samford and two more three-pointers.

• The Bucs led for 27 minutes of the game, including the entire second half.

• The game saw five lead changes and six ties — all in the first half.

• ETSU dominated the boards with a 42-24 advantage.

• ETSU outscored Samford 40-26 in the paint and had an 18-7 advantage in second chance points.

• The Bucs are now 12-0 when holding their opponent to under 50 points.

• The Bucs are 19-0 when outshooting the opponent this season.

• ETSU has led at halftime in 22 of the 23 wins.

• ETSU improves to a 13-4 record when playing away from Johnson City.

• The Bucs improve to a 25-13 record as a top three seed in the conference tournament.

• The Bucs are now 2-1 against Samford in the postseason.

BRACKET UPDATE

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 2

#1 Wofford 71, #8 Western Carolina 56

#4 UNCG 63, #5 Mercer 59 (OT)

#2 Chattanooga 63, #7 Furman 52

#3 ETSU 63, #6 Samford 47

Semifinals – Friday, March 3

Wofford vs. UNCG — 11 a.m.

Chattanooga vs. ETSU — 1:15 p.m.

Final — Sunday, March 5

Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner — 12 p.m.

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