by BOONE, N.C. (Nov. 25, 2019) – Leading by 16 points entering the final quarter, the ETSU Women’s Basketball squad fought off a vigorous Appalachian State comeback in the Holmes Center, securing their second win of the season in 67-61 fashion on Monday evening.
The Bucs’ offense was sparked by four players with double-digits entering the score sheet. Micah Scheetz (Knoxville, Tennessee) led the scoring for the Blue and Gold for the fourth-straight game, finishing with 20 points. Shynia Jackson (Warner Dobins, Ga.) shattered her previous career-high of 11 points with 19 points and seven rebounds. E’Lease Stafford (Navajo) scored 14 points with five rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Kaia Upton (Nashville, Tenn.) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, leading the Bucs in assists for the sixth game this season with three dimes. The four Bucs outscored Appalachian State 63-61.
ETSU shot 42.9% (24-56) from the field, the third time eclipsing the 40% mark. The Bucs shot a 30% (6-20) clip from the arc and a 65% (13-20) mark from the free-throw line. The Bucs were outrebounded 39-32 while scoring 32 points in the paint.
Nearing the media timeout in the opening quarter, the Bucs used an 8-0 run to turn a 4-3 deficit into an early 11-4 lead, grabbing four points from Scheetz and Jackson in between an Upton and-one. The Mountaineers responded with eight-straight points of their own before Scheetz pulled up from 18 feet and knocked down a jump shot to retake their lead, one the Bucs would take into the second quarter. Scheetz ended the first 10 minutes with eight points on 3-5 (60.0%) shooting.
The Bucs opened up the second quarter with a 12-2 run, pushing their lead to as much as 13 points with a 27-14 advantage with 6:24 remaining in the quarter. Appalachian State used an 8-0 run midway through the frame to try and get back in the game and cutting their deficit to as little as three, but back-to-back buckets from Arielle Harvey (Atlanta, Ga.) and a Jackson trey extended the Buc lead to 36-26 as the Blue and Gold headed into the locker room with a double-digit lead.
The Bucs entered the half shooting 14-33 (42.4%) from the field. ETSUs defense held strong, forcing the Mountaineers to just 10-37 (27.0%) shooting, including a 3-14 (21.4%) clip from three and just 3-8 (37.5%) from the line. ASU did hold a slight advantage in rebounds, edging the Buccaneers 23-21 on the glass. Scheetz finished with a game-high 14 points in the first half, while Jackson added nine points and six rebounds to her name in the opening 20 minutes.
With the third quarter being the hindrance in the last time out for the Bucs, Brittney Ezell and Co. looked to erase the memory from their mind. Upton helped qualm those fears, scoring seven of the 11 points heading into the media timeout as the Bucs would extend their lead to as much as 16 points in the early stages of the second half. That advantage would extend to as much as 18 points with just under two minutes in the quarter. ASU looked to grab a late run to get into manageable range heading into the fourth with a 4-0 spurt, but lost Jackson at the wing as the sophomore knocked down a wide-open three to extinguish the run and grab her career-high 14th point.
Despite the 16 point margin after three, the Mountaineers would not go away. Just over 90 seconds into the final frame, Appalachian State used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to just 10. A Stafford layup extended the lead before another quick 5-0 spurt once again threatened and cut the lead to just seven points.
Leading by just four with three minutes to play, Jackson once again found herself wide open from behind the line to make a huge trey to extend the lead back to seven. A steal on the next possession from Scheetz found the Bucs in a position to ice the game at the free-throw line. The Bucs knocked down just 1-4 in the final minute, but were bailed out on the defensive side as the Blue and Gold were able to stave off an impressive comeback to take a 67-61 road win in Boone.
