It wasn’t pretty, but the Lady Bucs were able to get another conference win against Belmont 58-49 on Monday night. Regardless of the final score, head coach Karen Kemp knows that it’s the tally mark in the win column that matters.

“We’ve never stressed offense at this school, we’ve always stressed defense,” Kemp said.

Freshman forward Destiny Mitchell got her seventh double-double of the year. She is continuing to be the player her team needs her to be.

“Destiny is not even where I think she can be,” Kemp said. “She hasn’t disappointed yet, but she’s not happy where she is either.”

Mitchell seemed far from shocked at her production this year. “I know I’m capable of it,” she said after the game. “I’m a good rebounder.”

ETSU started off the first half with back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Tara Davis and junior guard Natalie Pickwell. From there it was pretty much all defense. The Bucs started off the game on a 10-2 run and were able to maintain that lead for the entire first half. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. Davis missed six straight shots after her first 3-pointer.

Belmont also had trouble scoring against the zone of the Lady Bucs. However, Belmont did make a couple of surges. Twice they cut it to a six-point deficit, but both times Tara Davis was able to create some offense and stretch the lead back out.

The second half started out almost identically to the first. ETSU went on a 10-3 run to put the game almost out of reach for the Bruins. The last 15 minutes were a formality. Again Belmont made an attempt to get close, but they could never get closer than nine points.

With this win, the Lady Bucs move to 7-3 in the conference. Their next game is against Kennesaw State this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Mini-Dome.

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