Evans and Washington not enough firepower to carry ETSU team past Evansville, 83-73
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: Sports
Freshman Gwen Washington (Manassas, Va.) scored a game-high 21 points and junior Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) notched her 16th career double-double, but it was still not enough to overcome Evansville, as the Purple Aces downed the Lady Bucs in their season-opener, 83-73, Saturday evening inside Roberts Stadium.
Evans finished the evening with 16 points (14 in the second half) and a game-high 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Tara Davis (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) chipped in with a career-high 13 points. Evansville (1-0) had three players score in double figures, with Ashley Austin and Robyn Jennings each posting career-high 20-point efforts in the win.
Both teams had season-opening jitters to start the contest, but Evansville connected on four of its first six shot opportunities, compared to ETSU's 2-of-8 shooting, and the Purple Aces led, 11-5, heading into the first media timeout at the 15:46 mark. From there, foul trouble haunted the Lady Bucs as juniors Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) and Devin Thompson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) each picked up two quick fouls in the opening six minutes of the half.
With ETSU (0-1) having to go to its bench, Evansville used that for a spark, grabbing a 25-15 lead with less than 10 minutes left before the break. The Lady Buccaneers slowly chipped the 10-point deficit away over the next three and a half minutes to narrow the Evansville lead to one, 29-28, with 6:26 remaining in the first. The run was fueled by Washington as she accounted for seven of the 13 Lady Buccaneer points during the stretch. Unfortunately, Washington and company cooled off, and the Purple Aces carried a 43-34 advantage into the locker room - using 14-6 run to close out the half.
In the first half, Evansville shot 57.7 percent from the floor (15-of-26), compared to ETSU's 31 percent clip (13-for-42). After not getting a shot off in its exhibition win over Cumberlands, (Gwen) Washington sure made up for the lost cause, going 7-for-17 in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scores with 17 points. Austin led the Purple Aces with 10.
Evans finished the evening with 16 points (14 in the second half) and a game-high 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Tara Davis (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) chipped in with a career-high 13 points. Evansville (1-0) had three players score in double figures, with Ashley Austin and Robyn Jennings each posting career-high 20-point efforts in the win.
Both teams had season-opening jitters to start the contest, but Evansville connected on four of its first six shot opportunities, compared to ETSU's 2-of-8 shooting, and the Purple Aces led, 11-5, heading into the first media timeout at the 15:46 mark. From there, foul trouble haunted the Lady Bucs as juniors Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) and Devin Thompson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) each picked up two quick fouls in the opening six minutes of the half.
With ETSU (0-1) having to go to its bench, Evansville used that for a spark, grabbing a 25-15 lead with less than 10 minutes left before the break. The Lady Buccaneers slowly chipped the 10-point deficit away over the next three and a half minutes to narrow the Evansville lead to one, 29-28, with 6:26 remaining in the first. The run was fueled by Washington as she accounted for seven of the 13 Lady Buccaneer points during the stretch. Unfortunately, Washington and company cooled off, and the Purple Aces carried a 43-34 advantage into the locker room - using 14-6 run to close out the half.
In the first half, Evansville shot 57.7 percent from the floor (15-of-26), compared to ETSU's 31 percent clip (13-for-42). After not getting a shot off in its exhibition win over Cumberlands, (Gwen) Washington sure made up for the lost cause, going 7-for-17 in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scores with 17 points. Austin led the Purple Aces with 10.
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