Sparked by a season-best 21-0 run midway through the first half, the Stetson women's basketball team defeated visiting ETSU 74-65 in an Atlantic Sun Conference game Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.
The victory was Stetson's 15th straight at home, tying for the fifth-longest active home court winning streak in Divison I.
Sasha Sims led four Hatters in double figures with 20 points as Stetson (17-6, 10-2 A-Sun) swept the season series from ETSU (6-13, 4-8).
"Overall I was pleased with our effort and with how well we played," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "We were very active on defense, and we had a lot of deflections. I thought our defense was some of the best I've ever seen."
Shanasa Sanders continued her strong play of late with a 17-point, six-rebound performance. Cherisse Burris netted 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Victoria McGowan added 14 points, five assists, and four steals.
With the game tied at 19, the Hatters went on a 21-0 run over a seven minute span, highlighted by a three-pointer by Sanders and a three-point play by McGowan.
"I thought we did a great job of guarding them and just shutting down the paint," Bria said. "That's really why we went ahead, because we created some turnovers and got some easy baskets."
ETSU cut a 20-point halftime deficit down to 10 with 7:29 left in the game, but the Hatters held on down the stretch for the victory.
"I think our energy dropped a little bit in the second half, but I also think they started to get the ball inside a little better," Bria said. "I'm glad we got some stops when we needed it and we put some points on the board when we needed it."
Janelle Mills played in her school-record 120th consecutive game. She has not missed a game in her career.
McGowan, meanwhile, moved up to fifth in school history with 1390 career points scored.
The Hatters will be back in action Monday night as Stetson hosts USC Upstate at 7 p.m. The contest will be Stetson's Play4Kay game and all fans are encouraged to wear pink as the women's basketball team helps raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.
