The Lady Bucs experienced a sweet and sour game against Furman Monday night.
The good news is that Tiffani Mayes recorded 19 rebounds, putting her in the lead of the Southern Conference, while her teammate Kiya Verdell tallied 27 points, one shy of tying her career record.
The bad news is that East Tennessee State was handed its first home game loss this year.
Furman defeated ETSU 80-68 at Memorial Center in a hard-fought Southern Conference match-up.
The Lady Bucs were on an 8-0 home winning streak dating back to last season, before Furman (9-8, 6-4 SoCon) changed that record.
The first half was evenly matched. Verdell scored 17 of her 27 points, while Furman had two players, Shealey and Roach, scoring 7 points each. At halftime, the teams were tied at 37.
When asked what he had told his team at halftime, Furman Coach Sam Dixon said, “Better defense!”
The Furman players listened to their coach and stepped their game up.
Furman came out with a pressure defense that ETSU could not match. Early in the half, Furman also went on a 59-44 run. The Lady Bucs did come within seven but couldn’t seal the gap.
“We came out flat and we’re not patient about bringing the ball down,” Verdell said about the second half.
With 1:27 on the clock, ETSU was down 62-76. “We just kept it going in the second half and had a little better focus in terms of what we needed to do,” Dixon said.
“Verdell is a very, very good player and she came out on fire. We didn’t have an answer for her early during the course of the game, but they built confidence there.”
Fouls also hurt the Lady Bucs, allowing Furman to go to the line 31 times. The Lady Paladins hit 24 of their free throws, while ETSU only hit 8 out of 18.
Players from ETSU that also had double-digit scores included Brooke Wilhoit, who tallied 12 points, while B.J. Banjo and Mayes each scored 10 points.
Mayes said the team was better prepared and could have beaten them. “We were ready,” Mayes said. “We just had a few mental lapses which cost us the game.”
Coach Karen Kemp was proud of Verdell. “Kiya shot the ball extremely well, and that was one thing we knew was going to have to happen against Furman. She stepped up to the challenge and knocked down some key threes,” Kemp said.
Adding to their win, Furman’s Lady Paladins had two players in double digits. Deshara Shealey and Jen Nadalin both tallied 18 points. Nadalin was also in the books for 12 rebounds.
The Lady Bucs have a hard road ahead of them, facing Chattanooga, (11-0 SoCon), on Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. taking place in the Memorial Center. Kemp said that her team has improved and have continued to get better.
“We will be seasoned come tournament time,” Kemp said.
As for Chattanooga, Verdell warned, “We’re going to bounce back. This is the last loss on home floor. Chattanooga better be ready!

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