ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WJHL) – The ETSU women’s basketball team was riding a six-game losing streak heading into the conference tournament and hasn’t gotten out of the quarterfinals in three years, but none of that mattered as the eighth-seeded Buccaneers took down No.1 Samford 68-61 Thursday afternoon at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center.
Coach E and her ladies were led by a pair of freshman, center Jakhyia Davis and guard Carly Hooks, who combined to score half of the Buccaneers points. Davis chalked up a team-high 21 points and five rebounds, while Hooks finished with 13 points and three boards.
“They really counted on our youth movement, Jakhyia Davis was unstoppable, she was unreal. Carly Hooks made some shots, I couldn’t be more pleased with our young kids,” ETSU head coach Brittney Ezell said.
These two underclassmen were relied on heavily, but so was Samford junior guard and reigning SoCon Player of the Year Andrea Cournoyer. The Merryville, La. native went off for a game-high 31 points and four rebounds, while shooting 9-22 from the field. Other than the explosive performance from the conference’s best player, Ezell was proud of her squads defensive performance.
“We thought we had a defensive edge that we were able to get out and pressure their guards,” Ezell stated. “A team that runs a really good offense like Carly’s (Kuhns) does, you really have to get up and pressure.”
The Buccaneers look to keep their winning ways going when they square off against No.4 Wofford in Friday’s semifinals. The Terriers took down the Bucs in both regular season games, winning 75-49 on January 14 and 79-78 in overtime on January 16. The semifinal game tips off at noon on ESPN+.
