On a day when the Lady Bucs were missing their only senior, ETSU gutted out a 81-74 victory over Appalachian State in the Mini-Dome.
With senior point guard Chris Forman attending her grandfather’s funeral, Racquel Ellis directed the offense superbly, leading the Bucs with 19 points. Erin Thurman was her usual self, scoring 17 points and collecting three rebounds to go with four assists. The resurgent Lauren Trantham and Megan Jackson led the ladies in the post with 10 points and 11 rebounds, respectively.
ETSU opened the game with a 7-2 run that expanded into a 12-6 lead, marked by the aggressive Buccaneer press.
“I noticed that we were a little sluggish in the beginning of games,” Head Coach Karen Kemp said. “I wanted to get off on an early, aggressive start, so we opened with a press.”
The trapping defense confounded the Lady Mountaineers, who turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions at one point during the first three minutes. However, the Lady Bucs, whose largest first-half lead came at 27-17, could never put ASU away – several times, they gave up easy fast-break layups when ASU broke the press or gathered a long rebound.
Lauren Romano came off the bench for ASU to hit three 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the half, bringing the Lady Mountaineers within six at 39-33 at halftime.
Appalachian State merely heated up over halftime, flying out of the gates to complete a 16-3 run that bridged the intermission, giving them a 43-39 lead at the 17:22 mark.
Natasha Lettsome, who scored 24 points on 8-14 shooting (8-9 on free throws), led the Mountaineers with four points during the run.
The next several minutes saw an ETSU offensive clinic: Samantha Copeland drove to the basket and fed Misty Copas for an easy layup; Erin Thurman and Lauren Trantham perfectly executed a screen and roll; and Thurman swished a jumper off a set play.
However, Appalachian State was able to keep pace with the Bucs behind the outside shooting of Romano and Aisha Bryant, retaking a four-point lead, 62-58, with eight minutes remaining.
ETSU began its comeback behind – who else – Erin Thurman. Thurman swished a three pointer, hit two free throws, drove for a layup, and fed Racquel Ellis for an easy jumper all within a three-minute span.
When Copeland clanged home a three for a 70-62 ETSU lead with four minutes remaining, ASU was finished. Although they managed to cut the lead to four at one point, the Lady Bucs were able to hit enough free throws to finish out the game.
After the game, the players talked about missing Forman.
“We missed some of our leadership and composure.” Trantham said. However, “we did win, so we can’t have missed her that much,” Coach Kemp said.
“Some players really stepped up today.”
The importance of this win?
“Huge,” said Thurman. “This should really boost our confidence.”
“Although we started out well, we seemed to lose our composure midway through the game.” Kemp said. “Thankfully, we were able to come back. Erin seems to hit a big shot in every game we play.”
Although the Lady Bucs are only 4-18 overall, their 4-9 record in the conference ties them for sixth place.
“We’d really like to not have to play Thursday night (in the conference tournament),” Coach Kemp said.
If the Lady Bucs want to avoid playing on Thursday, they’ll have to win on the road, as they travel to College of Charleston and Western Carolina Feb 12 and 17.
The last home game is Feb. 19.

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