Johnson City, Tenn. - A sluggish start in the first half left the Stetson women's basketball team (3-13, 3-4 Atlantic Sun) a deficit just a little too large to overcome in a 78-59 loss at two-time defending conference champions ETSU (7-7, 5-1 A-Sun) Thursday evening. Junior guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla.) once again led the Hatters with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Stetson scored the game's first basket on a bucket by junior forward Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) just eight seconds after the tip-off, but then fell victim to a 26-8 run over the next 8:30 that put the Lady Bucs comfortably ahead to stay. ETSU pressed its advantage to 22 (39-17) at halftime; the Hatters were held without a field goal in the final 4:53 of the half and to just one basket in the last 8:54.
Although ETSU extended its lead to 47-22 early in the second half, the Hatters would not back down, slowly chipping away at the deficit until four free throws from Brown and Conner in quick succession made it a 10-point game at 66-56 with 3:07 remaining. That would be as close as Stetson would make it, however, as the Lady Bucs slammed the door with a 12-0 run keyed by offensive rebounding and second chance points.
Conner scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds to supplement Brown's performance with freshman guard Ashley Dennis (Bexley, Ohio) scoring seven points on 5-6 free throw shooting in her return to the court. Dennis had missed the last month with a foot injury suffered December 13 at Furman. As a team, the Hatters put on a strong performance from the free throw line, knocking down 14 of 16 attempts (.875). Junior center Natasha Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) led the team with seven rebounds while also scoring six points and blocking a shot.
TaRonda Wiles, the A-Sun's leading scorer, poured in 19 points to lead three Lady Bucs in double figures, along with Gwen Washington (13 points, eight rebounds) and Siarre Evans (10 points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals). Ashley Benedict scored nine points and tied with Tosha Austin for the game high in rebounding with 11 boards.
The Hatters conclude their two-game road trip Saturday, January 16 at Campbell. Tip-off from Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C. is set for 1 p.m. While this game is not an A-Sun.TV production, Hatter Vision subscribers can watch this game live at no extra cost by logging into their accounts; the feed is simulcast from Campbell's Fighting Camel Zone broadcast.
