Senior guard Siarre Evans and the Lady Bucs steamrollered their way over the Campbell Lady Camels Wednesday night 88-65.ETSU hit their first six shots of the game, and shot a blistering 52 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Gwen Washington had 12 points and 10 rebounds, the second double-double of her career, and Evans recorded 20 points, just to make sure the Lady Camels had no chance to win.

“Coming out strong always gives us lots of intensity,” said Washington after the game. “When there’s a spark like that it just makes it easier for all of us to play together.”

“It definitely helps to knock down our first few shots,” said head coach Karen Kemp. “We were ready for this team. We wanted to come out early and make a statement.”

The Lady Bucs took their hot start and never looked back. The score was 23-12 before Campbell made an attempt to challenge them. Freshman forward Geami Britt hit a jumper with 1:55 left in the first half to pull within nine points of the red-hot Lady Bucs, but that was as close as they would get. Senior forward TaRonda Wiles ran right back down the court and hit a three to answer the Camel’s small surge. ETSU went into the locker room at the half with a 47-33 lead.

Even with the big lead at the half, Kemp’s women came out anything but comfortable in the second 20 minutes. The Lady Bucs swarmed the backcourt like a hive of angry bees and ran the score up to 53-33 in less than two minutes. They would keep that big lead for the rest of the game, leading by as many as 26 before putting the subs in.

“When you’re up at halftime, it’s easy to come out flat,” Kemp said. “But I was pleased with our intensity.”

Evans, Washington, and Wiles also had a lot of help from their supporting cast. Junior guard Tarita Gordon contributed 12 points, and sophomore guard Natalie Pickwell had nine.

With this win, ETSU moves up to 9-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They will host Lipscomb this Saturday afternoon in the Memorial Center at 1:30, and the Belmont Lady Bruins on Monday.

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