A dominant fourth-quarter run lifted East Tennessee State University women’s basketball past Wofford, 63-57, Thursday night at Brooks Gym.
The Bucs then closed the regular season with a Senior Day win over Furman, 62-50. ETSU claimed the third seed in the Southern Conference Tournament and has a rematch with Furman (No. 6 seed) Thursday, March 6, in Asheville, North Carolina, at 3:30 p.m.
Defense set the tone early against Wofford, with both teams struggling to score. Wofford held a 5-4 edge to start out, but the Terriers failed to produce much more, only scoring just nine points in the first. ETSU capitalized with back-to-back threes from Lucy Hood and Courtney Moore to take a 12-9 lead after one.
The second quarter ramped up the action, the Terriers regained control in the second, holding a slim lead for most of the quarter. Megahn Downing powered a late ETSU push, scoring six straight points to even the game before Moore drilled a three at the buzzer, sending the teams into halftime tied at 26.
The action didn’t slow as the Bucs entered the third quarter. ETSU connected on four quick triples—two from Carmen Richardson and two from Kendall Folley. Wofford wouldn’t leave the third quarter without a fight of their own. Wofford entered the fourth quarter with a lead of just one point over ETSU at 46-45.
Looking to avoid just the third home loss all season, the women of ETSU put their foot on the gas, going on a 13-2 run in the fourth. Absolutely dominating on both sides of the ball, ETSU outscored Wofford in the final quarter 18-11.
With the wins over the Terriers and Paladins, the women’s basketball team sits at 17-12 on the season. ETSU has been phenomenal at home this season, going 11-3 while in Brooks Gym. For more news on Buccaneer women’s basketball, follow @ETSU_WBB on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.
