Candace Gibson and B.J. Banjo definitely made it their mission to make their “Senior Day” a memorable one.
The seniors started the game with a bang; they combined to score the Bucs first nine points. ETSU started off with energy to spare as they made shots, and played dynamic man-to-man defense.
Though the Lady Bucs came to play Saturday afternoon, so did the Hatters of Stetson. The Hatters were looking to win big against the Bucs who had already beaten them in DeLand 61-51 earlier this season.
There was an intense defensive performance by both squads throughout the first half, though ETSU managed to build a bit of a lead towards the middle of the half.
The game was a physical one, with not many fouls being called. The intensity hit a fever pitch when Stetson’s Jeni Hobbs was issued a technical foul after throwing her elbow in an attempt to secure a rebound. Banjo capitalized on the mistake by making one of the free throws and putting them up 17-9.
The back-and-forth battle persisted throughout the half, and ETSU continued challenging Stetson on both ends of the court.
The Bucs led 32-22 with 5:10 left to play. However, the Lady Hatters rallied towards the end, and cut the lead to seven when everyone headed to the locker room.
It was anyone’s game as the two teams returned from half time. Both the Lady Bucs and the Lady Hatters had made 12 of 29 of their shots, 41.4 percent. The only difference statistic-wise was that ETSU was shooting much better from behind the 3-point line, 57.1 percent compared to Stetson’s 25 percent.
With a lot on the line, Stetson came out of half ready to play ball. They played at a feverish pace, while the Bucs fell out of sync, allowing them to tie the ball game 44-44 at 16:07.
The lead rocked back and forth for a while before the Bucs could get into the rhythm.
Finally the Lady Bucs made a run and began to pull away with the lead after about 10 minutes of struggle.
It was smooth sailing from then on for ETSU who cruised to victory, 80-59.
The win was a wonderful home finale for the Bucs’ seniors, “It’s awesome . It feels wonderful, but it’s bittersweet,” said Banjo. “It’s my last game, but it feels great to get a big win like this.”
The win against Stetson was huge for the Lady Bucs, making their record in the A-Sun 13-5, 17-8 overall.
The season isn’t over though; ETSU will be heading on the road to play Gardner- Webb and Campbell later next week before they prepare for the Atlantic Sun tournament, which will begin on March 9 in Dothan, Ala.

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