Johnson City Times

Without the services of two key starters in the second half, ETSU women’s basketball lost a bit of its early momentum and slipped behind in a 68-58 loss to Samford inside Freedom Hall on Saturday.

The Bucs got an early bucket from sophomore Nevaeh Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) on the first possession and led for over 23 minutes, but Samford’s offense scored 30 third quarter points and shot over 68 percent in the frame to take a double-digit lead.

Despite being shorthanded, the Bucs charged back in the fourth quarter and pulled back within two with 2:33 remaining — thanks to an inspired 15-4 run. From there, Samford’s 2021 Southern Conference Player of the Year Andrea Bailey scored eight of her team’s last 10 points to keep her team ahead for the win.

With a tough start to SoCon play, ETSU falls to 13-6 overall and 0-3 in the conference. Meanwhile, Samford remains unbeaten in league games with a 4-0 record, while improving to 10-9 overall.

Despite the loss, ETSU won both the turnover battle and the battle of the boards. ETSU outrebounded Samford 39-36 while owning a 15-13 advantage in turnovers. Samford’s advantage came in second half shooting, going from 31.8 percent in the first half to 57.1 percent in the second half while posting a 52.6 showing behind the arc.

Brown led the Bucs with 16 points on the day, while graduate guard Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) added 14 points for her 14th double-digit scoring game of the season. Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) chipped in eight points, seven boards and three assists.

Despite only playing one half each, graduate post Jayla Ruffus-Milner (North Hills, Calif.) finished with a team-high eight rebounds and Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) hit a pair of early three-pointers for six points.

Bailey led Samford with 25 points and eight rebounds, staying on the court nearly the whole way with over 39 minutes played.

Today’s game marked the first time since 2019 that ETSU women’s basketball hosted a contest inside Freedom Hall. The Bucs will also be back in two weeks for another Saturday double-header with the men, hosting UNCG on Jan. 28 at 1 p.m.

ETSU returns to action next week for a two-game road swing at Furman and Wofford. First up is the Paladins in Greenville on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. Two days later, the Bucs will head to Spartanburg for a 2 p.m. tip against the Terriers. 

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

Original source can be found here