ETSU fell short in Greenville, South Carolina, losing to the Furman Paladins 67-47. Now standing 8-18 in total, with 3-8 in SoCon, the Bucs have three games remaining before tournament play begins on March 3.
Senior Arielle Harvey (Atlanta, Georgia) matched her season-high and career best at ETSU with her 10 points. Sophomore Kaia Upton (Nashville, Tennessee) also grabbed 10 points, while sophomore Shynia Jackson (Warner Robins, Georgia) took eight points with as many rebounds. Not to be outdone, junior Micah Sheetz (Knoxville, Tennessee) made the team high of four assists.
ETSU finished 17-56 from the field with only 2-17 from range, while shooting 11-12 from the line.
Since their first meeting of the year at Brooks Gym on Jan. 15, the two teams seemed to take a moment to figure the other out in this round. The Blue and Gold played their part well at the beginning of the first half, taking an 8-6 lead going into the first media break.
The Paladins fought back after play was resumed going on a 7-0 run to steal the lead, which they would keep for the remainder of the game. The run was ended by a jump shot courtesy of Upton, which kicked the difference to three points. Furman refused to back down finishing the quarter 17-10.
After the break, Furman continued their streak, opening the second quarter with an 11-4 run during the first five minutes of play. When the Bucs began to improve, the Paladins set a 6-7 field goal streak and kept their lead in the double digits. The score was 36-22 going into the next break.
Harvey was a necessary asset for the team in the third quarter coming off the bench to bring the Bucs to closer before Furman shot 7-10 from the field. Furman advanced their lead to 17 points.
The final quarter was dominated by the Paladins who opened it up with a 12-2 run, sending the score to 67-47 by the final buzzer.
The Bucs are back at Brooks Gym on Feb. 20, where they are scheduled to face the Samford Bulldogs at 7 p.m. The final home game of the season will be on Feb. 22. against the Mercer Bears.
