DeLand, Fla. - The second-largest women's basketball crowd in Edmunds Center history (3,417 fans) saw Stetson (6-2, 1-0 Atlantic Sun) shake off an early second half stumble and record a 68-60 win over visiting ETSU (0-7, 0-1 A-Sun) in the conference opener for both teams on Thursday. Junior guard Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Hatters.
Today's crowd on Volusia County Schoolchildren Day came close to eclipsing the school record 3,760 that saw the Hatters take on local superstar Bridgette Gordon and top-ranked Tennessee on January 9, 1989. Stetson's victory this afternoon was its first over ETSU in exactly 16 years to the day and its first over the Lady Bucs since the latter joined the A-Sun in 2005-06.
The Hatters dominated play throughout the first half, going up by as many as 15 points and taking a 37-26 lead into the locker room behind 14 points from Sanders. Stetson shot 16-31 from the floor in the first half with just six turnovers while ETSU was only 9-31 from the field and committed 10 first half turnovers.
ETSU, desperate to try to avoid a program record seventh straight loss to begin a season, came out swinging at the Hatters after halftime. The Lady Bucs turned up the speed and defensive intensity and used a 16-4 spurt to eventually tie the score 42-42 with 13:17 to play on a Tarita Gordon three-pointer.
Stetson never surrendered the lead, nor did it trail once in the contest, answering the Lady Bucs each of the three times the visitors tied the score. A Sanders runner in the paint with 9:39 to go put the Hatters ahead 48-46, a lead they would swell to six before ETSU's final charge. Destiny Mitchell's lay-in with 2:49 to play brought the Lady Bucs within two at 59-57, but Stetson salted the game away with approximately 90 seconds left as Sanders put back a missed shot, then freshman guard Clarissa Coddington (Davie, Fla.) stole the ball from Natalie Pickwell and went the other way for a fast break layup and a six-point advantage.
That sequence was part of a game-sealing 9-0 run as Stetson held on for the 68-60 victory, winning its A-Sun opener for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Sanders shot 50 percent from the floor (9-18) and added two blocks to her 22 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Sasha Sims (Fayetteville, Ga.) notched 15 points and eight rebounds with two assists, two blocks and two steals while freshman forward Cherisse Burris (Blue Springs, Mo.) joined them in double figures with 10 points (all in the first half). Junior guard Victoria McGowan (Inkster, Mich.), the A-Sun's third-leading scorer, was held to just seven points but contributed in other ways with five rebounds and five assists.
Gordon scored 20 points and handed out four assists to lead ETSU, which also got strong performances from Mitchell (12 points, eight rebounds) and Pickwell (11 points, nine rebounds). Stetson out-shot the Lady Bucs .418 to .333 with eight blocks to ETSU's one; ETSU won the rebounding battle 50-34.
The Hatters are back in action at 1:00 pm Sunday when they visit Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State in non-conference action. Live Stats will be linked to at GoHatters.com.
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