The East Tennessee State University’s women’s basketball team battled Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 15, and Mercer on Monday, Jan. 18, starting their 2022 gameplay, but were defeated in both contests.
UTC started the game strong, ending the first quarter 20-4 with four points at the start of the quarter, and 10 more in a row after junior Amaya Adams (Kansas City, Missouri) scored a two-pointer.
The Bucs had a better time in the second quarter than the first, scoring 17 points and 13 for the Mocs. At halftime, the score was 33-21 with the Mocs in the lead.
Keeping a close third quarter, UTC gained 21 points, and ETSU gained 20. Falling short in the fourth quarter with five points gained by ETSU and 12 by UTC; the Mocs won the game 66-46.
Freshman Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Florida) led the Buccaneers in points with 13 points during the game. Freshman Jakhiya Davis (Knoxville, Tennessee) led the rebounds with 9.
The game against UT Chattanooga was the first in-conference game, leaving the Bucs with a 1-13 record and 0-1 in conference play.
Following the loss at home on Saturday, the Bucs hit the road to Mercer. Both teams came ready to play ending the first quarter 23-15 with Mercer in the lead. The Bucs fought back during the second quarter scoring 19 points and Mercer scoring 13.
Coming back from halftime with a score of 36-34, Mercer was in the lead, but the Bucs were not far behind them. The third quarter was not as successful for the Bucs as the Bears earned 18 points to the six points earned by ETSU.
The fourth quarter was tight as both teams fought hard. ETSU and Mercer continued to score points back and forth ending the quarter with 14 points for the Bucs and 12 points for the Bears.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to win the game, and Mercer beat the Buccaneers with a final score of 66-54.
Moore had the most points for ETSU again, scoring 17 points, and Davis with 10 rebounds and two assists. Along with Moore scoring double digits, freshman Carly Hooks (Atlanta, Georgia) scored 10 points.
With an overall record of 1-14 (0-2) the Buccaneers are headed home again to play University of North Carolina Greensboro at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 and Western Carolina at noon on Jan. 22, bringing their four games in seven days to a close.
