The ETSU women’s basketball team traveled to Las Vegas to play in the UNLV Thanksgiving MTE. The eight-team tournament provided the Lady Bucs with opponents they would not usually play against. ETSU played three games in the tournament and won two of them.
The first game of the tournament was Nov. 25 for the Bucs. They played against George Washington and lost 78-58 in the first round. Nevaeh Brown led the Bucs in scoring with 16 points, while Jiselle Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio) had 15 points and a team-high of eight rebounds.
On the second day of the tournament, ETSU played University at Albany. The Lady Bucs were able to win a close one 48-44 with a solid defensive performance. With a 44-42 lead and under six minutes to go, the Bucs defense kept Albany from scoring for over five minutes. Nevaeh Brown once again led all Bucs in scoring with 14.
The Bucs were able to win the consolation bracket of the tournament with a 55-46 win over University of California San Diego. For the fourth time this season, the Bucs defense has held opponents to under 50 points. The Bucs struggled shooting the deep ball, going 1-9 in the first quarter.
A seven-point run allowed the Bucs to take a 15-10 lead into the first quarter break. The Bucs used that momentum to outscore the Tritons 16-3 and built a strong 31-13 lead with 3:30 left to play in the half. The Tritons were able to hit back-to-back threes, but ETSU was still in charge of the game with a 33-21 lead going into the half. San Diego started the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to single digits.
Sophomore Kendall Folley (Lebanon, Ohio) took that personally as she went on a 5-0 run for herself, making a layup and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions that helped the Bucs push the lead back up into double digits. Courtney Moore led the Bucs in scoring with 11 points. It was a very balanced scoring attack for ETSU with three different Lady Bucs scoring double digits. Folley had five dimes to add to her eight points. Izzy Forsyth led the Tritons in scoring with 10 points of her own.
The Bucs are now off to their best eight-game start since the 1996-97 season with a 6-2 overall record. After a long road trip, the Bucs come back to Johnson City as they host Vanderbilt inside Brooks Gym on Dec. 1. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will serve as Heroes Day.
