Middle Tennessee State shot 59 percent from the floor while East Tennessee State shot 45 percent in a 95-70 MTSU victory over the Lady Bucs Monday night from Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.
ETSU falls to 1-5 on the season while Middle Tennessee State runs their record to 2-1 with the win.
Buc sophomore forward Tiffani Mayes came off the bench to have a huge game, scoring a season-high for the Bucs and a career-high 20 points on 8-10 shooting. Mayes also had a team-high two blocked shots and tied for the Lady Buc lead with six rebounds. Junior forward Lauren Trantham also had six boards and added 12 points for ETSU. Freshman guard B.J. Banjo dished out a team-high five assists for the Lady Bucs.
MTSU Freshman Tia Stovall had a career and season high with 23 points on the night. Stovall paced six Raiders in double-figure scoring. She was 10-of-12 from the field and also led the team, with a career-high nine rebounds and had five steals.
ETSU had 11 steals on the night, leading to 19 Raider turnovers. Senior guard Kiya Verdell had a team-high four steals for the Bucs. But the Raiders snagged 18 steals as a team, forcing ETSU into 31 turnovers.
Georgia Tech 85
ETSU 35
East Tennessee State’s women’s basketball team shot a dismal 13-of-61 from the floor as Georgia Tech (3-1) defeated ETSU 85-35 in the opening round of the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic Friday from Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta.
Tournament host Georgia Tech began the game with a 23-4 run and never looked back from there — the swarming Yellow Jacket defense forced 32 turnovers, which resulted in 43 points and used their towering height advantage to out-rebound the Bucs 63-37. Tech grabbed 20 offensive boards in the first half and finished the game with 28 rebounds on the offensive end, leading to 24 second-chance points.
Lauren Trantham was held to just four points on just 2-of-9 shooting. The Bucs were led offensively by walk-on sophomore Carla Akers, who scored a career-high nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point land, all in the second half. Defensively, sophomore Tiffani Mayes grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and had a career-high four blocks.
Six-foot, 5-inch senior center Sonja Mallory led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points, including nine rebounds. Mallorie Winn and Fallon Stokes added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Arkansas State 63
ETSU 48
ETSU also dropped the consolation game of the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic to Arkansas State Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta.
The Bucs went on a run late in the second half, but Arkansas State hit some key 3-point baskets and converted on its free throws down the stretch as the Indians defeated ETSU 63-48.
Arkansas State (2-2) once led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but the Bucs finally caught some breaks that would allow them to get within 10. However, ETSU got itself in some foul trouble about midway through the frame, putting the Indians at the free-throw line.
The opponents came through in the clutch, hitting 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) shots from the charity stripe in the second half and finished the game 73.7 percent from the line.
On the offensive end it was another bad shooting day for the Bucs, who shot just over 30 percent from the field. Junior guard Kiya Verdell was only 4-of-15 from the field, but led the team with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, as ETSU barely edged Arkansas State in the rebounding category 50-48. Junior Lauren Trantham added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Tiffani Mayes grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
Arkansas State was led by point guard Casie Lowman’s 18-point effort, while All-American candidate Jolie McKeirnan pitched in 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Rachel Porter and Amber Abraham scored 10 points each.
ETSU 72
Radford 60
ETSU claimed a 72-60 win at Radford University Wednesday Nov. 27, as the Lady Bucs won their first game of this season.
The first half was back and fourth as neither team grabbed more than a six-point lead. Radford (1-2) would see their largest lead of six at 9:19 of the first half, 22-16. The Bucs retaliated with an 8-2 run to knot things up at 24 — they would eventually grab the lead for good with another spurt, going up 37-31 with a 7-0 run late in the first half and take a four-point lead into the break.
The Highlanders got within a field goal twice early in the second half, but were unable to get the tying bucket. After the 13-3 run put the Bucs up by 12, Radford could not get the deficit under double-digits the rest of the game as they got cold, shooting 32.3 percent from the field and 60 percent from the line in the second half.
ETSU was led by Lauren Trantham who recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Kiya Verdell chipped in 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while senior forward Misty Copas added 10 points to the winning effort. Tiffani Mayes got into foul trouble early in the second half, but managed nine points and eight rebounds, both career bests, in just 15 minutes on the court.
Amanda Neby led the Highlanders with a game-best 20 points, including nine rebounds and three steals. Holly Sharkey was the only other Highlander in double figures, scoring a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Sherri Rickman and Jesse Brunjak each scored nine points and grabbed nine and six boards, respectively, for the Highlanders.

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