JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Interstat) — East Tennessee State used a decisive third-quarter burst and a strong defensive effort to defeat West Florida 73-51 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Tuesday at ETSU Athletic Center. The Lady Buccaneers improved to 1-0, while the Argonauts dropped to 0-1 before an announced attendance of 685. East Tennessee State never trailed after the opening minutes and pulled away after a competitive first half.

West Florida opened the scoring when Janai Jordan made a layup 37 seconds into the game. East Tennessee State answered with 10 straight points. Emmah McAmis made a turnaround jumper and a layup, Anala Nelson scored on a layup and made a free throw, and Nelson added a turnaround jumper in the paint to give the Lady Buccaneers a 10-2 lead. Jordan hit a 3-pointer to stop the run, but Daniela López and Sabreya Monsanto answered with baskets for East Tennessee State. Jordan scored again on a layup and free throw, and Kayla Williams made two free throws and a layup to help West Florida close within 16-11. Lucia France scored inside for East Tennessee State, and Finley Kennedy made a floating jump shot in the paint at the end of the quarter, leaving the Argonauts down 18-13.

West Florida continued to chip away in the second quarter. Ebba Zalamans made a layup, Kendall Lacoste hit two free throws, and Nia Coleman scored on consecutive driving layups. Giselle Eke added a hook shot and a layup, and Coleman made another layup to cut the deficit to 30-29 with 45.2 seconds left in the half. East Tennessee State had answers from McAmis, Alanna Tatum, López, France and Lucy Hood during the quarter. Jaidyn Harper then hit a 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Buccaneers a 33-29 halftime lead.

The decisive stretch came at the start of the third quarter. East Tennessee State scored the first 11 points of the second half, turning a four-point halftime lead into a 44-29 advantage. France began the run with a layup and a hook shot in the paint. McAmis followed with two layups, and Nelson capped the burst with a driving layup and a free throw with 6:14 left in the quarter. West Florida ended the run on Kennedy’s tip-in layup at the 5:57 mark, but the Argonauts could not mount another rally. Sydney-James Desroches hit a 3-pointer, McAmis added another 3-pointer, and Hood connected from beyond the arc late in the quarter as East Tennessee State took a 61-40 lead into the fourth.

West Florida had one more push early in the fourth. Sinaya Gibson made a layup, and Lacoste hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 65-45 with 7:58 remaining. East Tennessee State responded with a layup from Nelson and a pull-up jump shot from López. Sabreya Monsanto made a layup for the Lady Buccaneers during the early fourth-quarter exchange. Kennedy made a tip-in layup for West Florida, but McAmis answered with a driving layup. Eke scored inside for the Argonauts, and Yanessa Boyd made a layup for East Tennessee State before Zalamans closed the scoring with a layup at the 1:14 mark. The Lady Buccaneers maintained control throughout the fourth quarter and emptied their bench in the final minutes.

France was East Tennessee State’s top star, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists and four blocks in 26 minutes. The 6-foot-2 center from Traverse City, Mich., who previously attended Traverse City Central, helped anchor the Lady Buccaneers inside. McAmis, a 5-foot-7 guard who previously attended Central, added 18 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. Nelson contributed 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. Desroches, a 6-foot-0 forward who previously attended Rossview, had seven points, six rebounds and four blocks in 17 minutes. López, a 5-foot-10 guard who previously attended INS Pineda de Mar, added 10 points, five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.

Jordan led West Florida with 15 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes. Kennedy finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes. Coleman added six points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. Zalamans had four points, four rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes, while Eke chipped in eight points, one rebound, one assist and two blocks in 18 minutes.

East Tennessee State shot 30 of 73 from the floor, 4 of 28 from 3-point range and 9 of 14 from the free throw line. West Florida shot 20 of 63 from the floor, 3 of 16 from beyond the arc and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. The Lady Buccaneers held advantages in offensive rebounds, 15-11, assists, 10-6, and blocks, 10-3. France and Desroches each blocked four shots for East Tennessee State, while Eke had two blocks for West Florida. West Florida committed 16 turnovers, while East Tennessee State committed 10. West Florida scored 51 points from 72 possessions for an offensive rating of 70.6. East Tennessee State scored 73 points from 75 possessions for an offensive rating of 97.8.

West Florida next plays at Western Carolina, with upcoming games against Pensacola Christian, Florida State, Florida A&M, Spring Hill, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas-Arlington, Southern Illinois, West Georgia and New Orleans. East Tennessee State next travels to Clemson, with UVA Wise, Elon, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, UNC Asheville, Louisville, Radford and Morehead State also on its upcoming schedule.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of East Tennessee State 55, West Florida 53. Interstat’s ELO system had projected East Tennessee State with a 53.7 percent probability to win.