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CONTRIBUTED BY ETSU ATHLETICS

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – After being dealt a loss in its season opener Tuesday night at Cleveland State, the ETSU women’s basketball team looks to bounce back when the Buccaneers cap off their Buckeye state road trip Thursday night at Bowling Green.

Game time is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Stroh Center.

ABOUT THE BUCS
ETSU suffered an 81-54 setback to Cleveland State in the 2021-22 season opener Tuesday night … Despite trailing by only three at the half, the Bucs were outscored 49-25 in the final 20 minutes as the Vikings came away with the 27-point win.

Newcomer Damiah Griffin (Memphis) led the Blue and Gold with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while fellow transfer Jamir Huston (Cleveland, Ohio) added eight points and seven rebounds in her trip back home … The Buccaneer duo combined to go 10-of-20 from the floor, while the rest of the team went 12-for-52.

The biggest disparities in the contest were free throw and 3-point shooting … Cleveland State was plus-5 from beyond the arc (9 to 4) and plus-24 in made free throws (30 to 6) … ETSU was doubled up in the foul count, 24-12.

Tuesday marked the first game for head coach Simon Harris as he was introduced as the Bucs’ ninth head coach in program history on March 19 … Harris took over a team that finished 4-16 a year ago.

ABOUT BOWLING GREEN
Thursday marks Bowling Green’s season opener as the Falcons are coming off a 21-8 season a year ago where they went 14-4 in the Mid-American Conference en route to winning the regular-season conference title.

This marks the Bucs’ second straight opponent who reached postseason play a year ago as Bowling Green played in the WNT – going 1-2 with a win over Dayton.

Bowling Green was picked to finish second in the MAC this season, while sophomore Lexi Fleming was named to the preseason all-conference team … Fleming, the MAC Freshman of the Year, led the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), minutes played (33.1), free throws made (89) and steals (67) in 2020-21.

The Falcons return 10 letter winners from last season’s squad, including all five starters.

Bowling Green made a 12-win improvement from the 2019-20 season to 2020-21, marking the second-largest turnaround in the country last year.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
ETSU has played five current MAC teams with the last coming on Nov. 26, 2017 when the Bucs played Western Michigan in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla.
The Bucs have wins over Western Michigan (2) and Ohio (1).
COVERAGE
Thursday’s game will be video streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available for Thursday’s game via BGSUFalcons.com. Twitter updates will also be available by following @ETSU_WBB.
UP NEXT
ETSU returns to Johnson City for its home opener this Sunday when the Bucs host Cornell at 2 p.m. inside Brooks Gym. For more information on ETSU women’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s basketball tab.