JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Despite a slow start, the ETSU Women's Basketball team scored 44 second half points to cruise past Lees-McRae, 73-46 inside Brooks Gym on Sunday afternoon. The Buccaneers remain a perfect 6-0 at home this season.
Defensive pressure fueled the Bucs eighth win of the season as they forced Lees-McRae to commit 27 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those turnovers for the game. On the offensive glass, ETSU dominated outrebounding the Bobcats, 24-8 on the offensive boards. Overall, the Bucs outrebounded LMC, 55-31, the second straight game ETSU has amassed over 50 rebounds.
Junior Shamauria Bridges had a game-high 23 points, despite having just six points in the first half. The Freshman duo of Raven Dean and Sadasia Tipps led ETSU on the boards as each as nine rebounds. The bench players for ETSU contributed with 26 points, a season-high.
It was a rough start to 2016 for the Bucs as in the first half they shot just 31 percent from the field and held a slim three point lead at halftime. ETSU jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the first quarter thanks in large part to a 6-0 run in just over a minute. The Blue & Gold forced Lees-McRae to commit seven turnovers in the first, en route to a 19-12 lead.
The Bobcats held the lead for nearly three minutes to begin the second quarter thanks in large part to scoring eight straight points to begin the quarter. Sophomore Malloree Schurr put the Bucs back in front at the 6:25 mark with a drive into the lane for a contested lay-up. Once regaining the lead, ETSU held LMC scoreless the last four minutes of the half.
Bridges took over in the third quarter scoring 12 of her game-high 23 points in the quarter. After trading the lead back and forth to being the third, ETSU embarked on a 12-2 run to slowly pull away from the Bobcats. The Bucs ended the quarter on a 23-9 run highlighted by Bridges going 2-for-3 from behind the three-point line, scoring seven straight points at one point in time.
Scoring 25 points in the third quarter, the Bucs kept the momentum going in the fourth outscoring the Bobcats, 19-5 en route to a 73-46 victory. After Lees-McRae took the lead at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter, ETSU outscored LMC, 42-11 the rest of the game.
The 27-point differential marks the longest victory of the season as the Bucs move to 8-7 on the year and remain a perfect 6-0 inside Brooks Gym.
Wrapping up non-conference action, the Blue & Gold hit the road to start Southern Conference play heading to Greenville, S.C on Jan. 7 to challenge Furman at 7 p.m on ESPN 3. ETSU concludes the weekend on Jan. 9 at Wofford. The Bucs first SoCon home contest will be played on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. against UNCG.