March has arrived, and the madness promises to follow. As for the ETSU Lady Bucs, a major win to secure a seat to the SoCon Tournament was the first objective to surpass. Entering Saturday’s game, the Bucs held a 16-12 record, 11 of which would come inside of Brooks Gym. A win against the Paladins would mean a third place finish for the upcoming conference circus, and the Bucs made sure to take care of business. The challenging Furman Paladins hit the court with a 15-14 record, barely holding onto relevancy. From the moment the ball was tipped, to the final whistle in the fourth quarter, the Bucs would lead in all but one quarter of the game. Additionally, the Lady Bucs, led by Head Coach Brenda Mock-Brown whose focus is in creating intense defense first-basketball would become a major factor as the Bucs would force 20 Paladin turnovers.
As the first quarter was on, ETSU and Furman both would start some-what cold. After 10 minutes of play, the Lady Bucs would lead 17-8. However, the offensive power of both sides caped by strong defensive ball, creating more opportunities for the Bucs would hold onto a 30-24 lead at the half. Things would take a short turn, as the Paladins came out swinging off the halftime break. Outscoring the Bucs 15-12 at the top of the fourth quarter, the Lady Bucs lead by that of Senior Guard, Courtney Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) and Co. would pull ahead, outpacing Furman 20-11 as the buzzer rang triple zeros in the final quarter.
With the win, ETSU Women’s Basketball ends the regular season with a 17-12 record. Looking ahead with irony on their backs, the Lady Bucs will face the Furman Paladins once again this Thursday in the SoCon Championship – Quarterfinal round at 3:30 inside of Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. The Lady Bucs are given a 63.0 percent chance of victory according to ESPN Analytics.
For more information on the ETSU Women’s Basketball team, please visit www.etsubucs.com
