ETSU senior forward Tiffani Mayes scored 24 points, leading the Lady Bucs to a 91-73 victory over the Wofford Lady Terriers Saturday afternoon from Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C.
In the second half, Mayes became the 13th Lady Buc player to score 1,000 points in her career. Angie Fickes was the last ETSU player to reach the mark, also scoring her 1,000th point against Wofford during the 1999-2000 season.
ETSU 75, UNC-G 63
UNC-Greensboro rolled into Brooks Gym on Thursday with a five-game winning streak, and in the first half, they looked ready to steal another win on the road.
But the Lady Bucs weathered the storm, using a dominant performance in the second half to pull away 75-63.
“Tonight was the best game that I’ve seen our team play all year,” said ETSU coach Karen Kemp.
“Overall, I’m very proud of our effort. We need to continue this momentum in the week ahead.”
ETSU put five players in double figures, led by senior point guard B.J. Banjo, who had 23 points.
Banjo had the difficult task of running the Lady Bucs offense while being guarded by Greensboro freshman Kristen Boone.
Boone ranks fifth in the nation in steals and had seven against ETSU.
“Her hands are so quick,” B.J. Banjo said. “You’ve got to be very, very, very careful with the basketball against her.”
Kemp agreed that taking care of the ball with Boone roaming the floor was a key to beating the Lady Spartans. “That’s one thing in practice that we talked about,” Kemp said.
“Her hands were amazingly quick. She may be the quickest player we play against all year.”
The Lady Spartans defense, fueled by Boone, was a major factor in the first half, as they held ETSU to 30 percent while shooting 50 percent from the floor themselves. The Lady Bucs managed to stay in the game by pulling down 14 offensive rebounds, giving themselves extra chances to score.
“To allow somebody to come onto your home floor and shoot 50 percent – that’s not doing a very good job,” Kemp said. “But we did get a lot of second and third chance opportunities.”
Kelly Turman and Tiffani Mayes led the barrage on the offensive boards, pulling down four each in the first half.
In spite of Greensboro’s hot shooting and stingy defense, the Lady Bucs managed to get to the locker room at the end of the first half down only three points, 35-32.
Once the second half began, it didn’t take ETSU long to grab the lead. A Banjo lay-up with 17:40 in the game gave the Lady Bucs a 39-37 lead.
The Lady Spartans appeared to lose their legs in the second half, perhaps due to playing their third road game in six days. UNC-G only managed to shoot 22 percent from the field in the second half.
A three by Michelle DeVault with 14:51 left in the game put ETSU up 47-37, and Greensboro never managed to challenge the Lady Bucs again.

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