Tuesday, February 01, 2011

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Six Lady Buccaneer players scored in double figures and head coach Karen Kemp eased her way to career win number 250, as the ETSU women’s basketball team rolled past Mercer, 100-62, Monday evening inside the MSHA Athletic Center.

Junior guard Natalie Pickwell (Kingsport, Tenn.) led the way for the Blue and Gold by netting a game-high 20 points, while freshman standout Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) continued her double-double dominance. Mitchell recorded her ninth double-double of the year as she finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six steals. Senior captains Tara Davis (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) each enjoyed solid performances as Davis scored 14 points and tied a season high with seven assists. Meanwhile, Belcher went 6-for-6 from the field to end with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals.

The ETSU starters weren’t the only ones getting in on the fun as the Lady Bucs reached the 100-point mark for the first time since putting up 102 on Belmont back on Feb. 18, 2008.

Sophomore Iesha Robinson (Martinsburg, W. Va.) came off the bench to score a season-high 15 points and junior Gwen Washington (Manassas, Va.) added 14. Robinson also finished 5-of-5 from the free throw line, while Washington totaled seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes of work.

With the win, ETSU closed out its season-long five-game homestand with a perfect 5-0 mark and improved to 13-9, 10-3 in A-Sun play. Mercer dropped to 1-20, 1-11 after suffering its worst conference loss of the year.

"This was a good way to wrap up the homestand and hopefully we have a little momentum now as we head down to Florida," commented Kemp, whose Lady Bucs now embark on a two-game road swing beginning Saturday afternoon at Stetson. "It was good to see a lot of people step up and I was really proud of our effort on both sides of the ball."

Even after leading the Lady Bucs to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and averaging over 20 wins during the last five seasons, coach Kemp was unaware of the milestone she reached following the game.

"I don’t keep up with those things (when asked about her milestone win), because we are just focused on this team and making them better. We have been fortunate to have players come in here and lay a winning foundation. The players deserve all the credit, because they are the ones who work hard every day in practice and carry that over on gamedays."

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