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3/7/2009 - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
ETSU Makes Return Trip to the Big Dance
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In a rematch of last year’s Atlantic Sun Championship, the top-seed ETSU Lady Bucs used a late second half run to defeat the second-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins, 58-52, and capture their second straight bid to the NCAA Tournament, winning the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Championship.
Jacksonville (19-13) took a 20-11 lead midway through the first half before ETSU (20-10) used an 8-2 run to shrink the deficit to three with 5:11 left in the first. Jacksonville held a 28-23 lead at the half.
ETSU came out of the locker room on fire scoring 16 of the first 21 points, to take a 39-33 lead with 14:10 left in the game. ETSU’s momentum slowed as the Lady Bucs committed five turnovers in a four minute stretch allowing Jacksonville to go on a 10-0 run of its own taking a 43-39 lead with 9:38 remaining. The Dolphins capped their run with a fast-break lay-up by Valerie Jones off of a turnover by ETSU’s TaRhonda Wiles.
Tournament Most Valuable Player and Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Siarre Evans hit a 3-pointer with 9:18 left in the game that jumpstarted a 12-0 ETSU run, spanning more than six minutes. Teneskei Richardson ended Jacksonville’s drought with a layup with 3:28 on the clock.
Evans connected on two free throws followed by a layup by TaRhonda Wiles to give ETSU a 10-point lead, its largest of the game, with 2:18 remaining.
Jacksonville wasn’t ready to throw in the towel - Crystal Grable made a lay-up and Regina Omoite drained a 3-pointer to make it a 55-50 game with 1:42 left. Richardson went to the line with 38 seconds left and hit two free throws cutting ETSU’s lead to three (55-52)
ETSU secured the first automatic bid handed out to this year’s NCAA tournament connecting on three free throws in the final 32 seconds.
Evans finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. She averaged 16 points and 12.5 rebounds for the tournament. Wiles led ETSU with 15 points. Omoite led Jacksonville with 10 points.
Led by Evans’s school single-game record for rebounds in an A-Sun Championship game, the Lady Bucs outrebounded the Dolphins 50-37.After shooting just 30.3 percent (10-for-33) in the first period, ETSU hit 46.2 percent (12-fo-26) of its shots in the second period. ETSU finished shooting 37.3 percent for the game. Jacksonville shot 39.4 percent (13-for-33) in the first half, but cooled to 25.7 percent (9-for-35) in the second half finishing at 32.4 percent for the day (22-for-68).
Joining Evans on the All-Tournament team were TaRhonda Wiles (ETSU), Courtney Ford (Mercer), Regina Omoite (Jacksonville), and DaVina Hamilton (Jacksonville) and Jessica Bobbitt (Belmont).
ETSU will learned its NCAA fate during the selection show that will air on Monday, March 16 on 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
