The Lady Bucs threw everything they could – and then some – at the fifth-ranked Xavier Musketeers on Sunday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.With the Lady Bucs trailing by one with less than three minutes to play, Xavier stepped up and closed out the final minutes on a 13-2 run to escape a major upset by ETSU, as the third-seeded Musketeers captured a 94-82 victory on their home court inside the Cintas Center.

Junior point guard Tarita Gordon (Wichita, Kan.) shined on the big stage by pouring in a career-high 30 points and draining five of the Lady Bucs’ school-record-tying 15 3-point field goals.

Along with Gordon’s effort, senior and two-time Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) closed out an illustrious career with a 20-point, 7-rebound performance.

Fellow senior and two-time Atlantic Sun First Team All-Conference performer TaRonda Wiles (Danville, Va.) chipped in with 14 points, six boards and two steals.

For the third straight year, the Blue and Gold exited the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss; however, after losing by 32 to Iowa State a year ago, ETSU showed the country what Lady Buccaneer basketball is all about.

The Lady Bucs, who never gave up and fought hard for the entire 40 minutes on Sunday, had their program-best 10-game winning streak come to an end, while finishing the year with an ETSU record 23 wins (23-9).

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