The ETSU women have really found their stride in conference play. With six wins in their last eight conference games, they have worked their way to a 7-3 record in the conference, two games behind Florida Gulf Coast University. The Lady Bucs have put some real distance between them and the bottom half of the standings.Senior guard Tara Davis is the biggest reason for the Bucs’ recent good play. There were questions at the beginning of this season on whether she would be able to be an offensive leader. However, halfway through the season, she is in second place in the Atlantic Sun conference with an average of 16.1 points per game. Davis also has the experience to get her team through tough games. Last week against Stetson, Davis sunk two free throws with just seconds left to put the game into overtime.
It is pretty clear to me that the Lady Bucs’ success is directly linked with Davis’ offensive production; so far, she’s been playing her role.
Freshman forward Destiny Mitchell has been a big lift this year. Averaging 14.3 points and 9 rebounds per game, Mitchell has been able to supply some extra offense. Mitchell has been able to snag two Atlantic Sun Player of the Week awards with her performances in Florida and Georgia.
Here is where the biggest test is for the Lady Bucs. Davis and Mitchell need some consistent help on the offensive end. So far, this help has come from junior guard Natalie Pickwell. She is currently the team’s third leading scorer. She has the best 3-point shooting percentage on the team, but she seems to be a streaky player. Last year, she also had a good start to the season, but her performance tapered off a bit and her minutes on the floor really went down. She did play well over the Christmas stretch this year though, and she will need to continue to contribute on the scoreboard for her team to have a chance to make a tournament run.
Senior forward Latisha Belcher has also got to play well for the Bucs to be the team they are capable. Before her surgery last year, Belcher was putting up monster points and rebounds game after game; that just hasn’t happened so far this year. I am looking for Belcher to have a true break-out game. She is capable of scoring 20 or more. In my opinion, for this team to have any chance of winning the Atlantic Sun tournament, Belcher will have to be more dominant in the paint.
The ETSU women really do have a good squad this year. The thing they struggle with the most is inconsistency. They are not a full-blown Jekyll and Hyde type team, but they definitely have moments where they don’t exactly seem to click. They have several home games at the end of January to prove me wrong. If the Lady Bucs can sweep this four-game home stretch, they have a real chance at making a run at the conference title.
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