LEXINGTON, Ky. - East Tennessee State opened up the game on a 21-8 run and never looked back in claiming third place at the 13th Women's Basketball Invitational with a 96-49 win over Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon from Lexington, Ky.
The Eagles finished the season with a 21-10 record, their first 20-win season in 20 years, and also claimed the program's first national postseason win, which came on Friday vs. NIU. ETSU finished with a 25-10 record, extending its own record for wins in a season.
ETSU hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor in the first period, then hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor in the second period including 4-of-6 from three-point range - to build an unassailable 46-25 lead at the break. The Bucs would finish the contest making 13-of-24 shots from three-point range, while holding the Eagles to just 2-of-17 shooting from long range.
Journee McDaniel led a trio of Bucs in double figures, hitting for a career-high 26 points, which included a perfect 7-of-7 from three-point range. The Eagles were led by Diamond Stokes' 14 points and 12 points from Terren Ward.
Eagle of the Game
Stokes notched her first double-digit scoring outing since December by hitting 6-of-9 shots from the floor. She also collected five rebounds, three steals, two assists and recorded a pair of blocked shots.
Stats of the Game
After outrebounding CBU by 20 in Saturday's semifinal, the Eagles were outrebounded 41-26 by the Bucs. The 26 rebounds were the fewest for the Eagles since January 5, 2019, when Georgia Southern had 25 against UT Arlington.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the game and the overall experience at the WBI for the program
"This tournament is what exactly what we needed in order to continue moving the program in the right direction. I felt that today was going to be a little different after what happened last night - and our players just weren't able to shake it. Normally tournaments are one and done, so it's a different kind of emotion you have to play with in a game like this. But hats off to ETSU, they came out, shot the lights out and had the energy from the start. That's what we need to learn - how to snap out of it. But the tournament gave me everything I wanted, and it will prepare us for what's next."