DeLand, Fla. ? The Stetson women's basketball team (6-9, 3-3 Atlantic Sun) could not make an eight-point halftime lead stand up and fell to the visiting ETSU Lady Bucs (7-6, 5-1 A-Sun) 53-52 Saturday evening at the Edmunds Center. Senior guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) led the way for the Hatters with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
A 28-20 halftime lead for the Hatters was cut to one point 3:20 into the second half and ETSU took its first lead on a Siarre Evans layup with 13:38 to play. The two teams traded baskets for the next several minutes until a Tara Davis basket pushed the Lady Bucs ahead by four, 48-44, with 6:19 remaining. It seemed that Stetson was poised for a clutch comeback win when it reeled off five straight points, punctuated by freshman guard Kelly Ellison's (Columbus, Ga.) three-pointer to take a 49-48 lead with 3:26 to go, but it was not to be.
ETSU center Latisha Belcher converted a field goal 15 seconds later that put her team ahead to stay. The Hatters missed their next five shots from the floor, squandering chances to go ahead. Down by three with 15 seconds left after a missed ETSU free throw, Stetson had a chance to tie but Ellison was off on a three-pointer from the left wing. In the ensuing scramble, junior forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) grabbed a rebound and laid the ball in, but it was too little, too late as the buzzer sounded with Stetson one point shy on the scoreboard.
Jackson finished with 11 points and eight rebounds while sophomore forward Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Ellison scored a career-high nine points while Smith's five helpers moved her into a tie for sixth all-time at Stetson with former teammate Kim Manning '07 at 353 assists. Senior center Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J.) blocked her 78th career shot to take sole possession of third place on the Hatter career list, passing Kaisa Tuure '02.
Belcher paced the defending A-Sun regular season and tournament champion Lady Bucs with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Evans notched a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double while TaRonda Wiles added 14 points to the cause. ETSU was able to capture the victory despite a 0-13 performance from three-point land.
Stetson opened up an eight-point halftime lead largely due to poor Lady Buc shooting; ETSU made just two field goals in the first 11:35 of the first half. Conner scored all eight of her points in the first half while Evans had eight of her own to lead ETSU.
The Hatters are back in action Thursday on the road at A-Sun foe Kennesaw State. Tip-off from the KSU Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m. A-Sun.TV will webcast the contest with Bill Topping's play-by-play commentary also available at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
