JOHNSON CITY — After a pair of runs to start the game, ETSU and Furman settled in for a hard-fought back-and-forth battle.
And it was the Buccaneers who had more in the gas tank.
In a women’s college basketball game Wednesday night at Brooks Gym, ETSU got a terrific performance from guard Micah Sheetz and earned a difficult 75-70 Southern Conference victory.
It was a much-needed win for the Bucs, who improved to 3-15 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Furman, which entered the contest in a first-place tie with Wofford, fell to 2-1 in the conference and 10-8 overall.
Trailing by six points, Furman got a 3-pointer from Le’Jzae Davidson to make it 71-68 with 55 seconds left. The Paladins had two 3-point shots to tie as the clock wound under 20 seconds, but had to settle for a layup by Kaitlyn Duncan with 3.1 remaining.
ETSU’s Kaia Upton made one of two free throws with 1.5 seconds to make it 72-70. Erica Haynes-Overton stole the in-bounds pass and drilled a trey for the final margin.
It wasn’t just the team-high 18 points for Sheetz, but the timing of some of her baskets. She made a clutch 3-pointer to put ETSU ahead 62-61 midway through the fourth quarter to steal Furman’s momentum. And with 3:02 remaining, she hit a three to give the Bucs a 71-65 advantage.
Ezell said the Bucs want the ball in Sheetz’s hands at the end of games.
Haynes-Overton added 15 points while Britney Snowden totaled 13. Raven Dean chipped in with 12.
It was a 15-2 start for the Bucs, who couldn’t miss from the field. A cold snap followed, and Furman answered ETSU’s punch with a 16-2 run of its own. It was tight the rest of the game.
The Bucs played most of the first half without Haynes-Overton, who was saddled with foul trouble. But with seven players scoring at least four points, the Bucs carried a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
ETSU had all kinds of trouble stopping Furman’s Celena Taborn. The post player made 10 of 11 shots from the field and finished with 22 points.
The key for the Bucs was stopping everything else — including Davidson, the Paladins’ leading scorer. She went 3 of 18 from the field and finished with 14 points.
Jarya Outten added 11 points while Duncan totaled 10. Tierra Hodges contributed 14 rebounds.