Postgame: Bucs Net Win Over Dolphins; Pyrrich Victory for Ladies?

Last night was easily the best and worst 20 minutes of basketball the men's team has played all year. With a dangerous duet of defense and dunks, the team got out to a huge lead, and then fell apart at the seams in the second half. I guess that's okay, because the team still won the game, but Bartow cannot - and from what I could gather, was not pleased with the overall performance.

Still, this win was important for ETSU. They likely wrapped up a post-postseason spot, whether it be NCAA (if they win the tournament) or NIT (if Belmont wins the tournament). With a 2.5 game lead over Jacksonville for second, things aren't definite, but seem to be well in hand. It was also a great display of grit and resolve, to come back out and acknowledge the fact that they played poorly against Stetson with an authoritative first half against a much better team.

That brings us to the women's game. Yikes. Hearing John's call of Destiny Mitchell's injury made it sound bad enough - then I watched the video. I hate to speculate on something like this, but my fear is that she could be done for the year. The MRI will give a definite answer, but the way her leg just completely gave out, I can't imagine a scenario where she didn't do some kind of ligament damage, but stranger things have happened. Heck, stranger things have happened at ETSU in the last academic year alone. Hopefully the results will come back soon.

On a lighter note, how about Natalie Pickwell? If Mitchell is hurt for a lengthy period of time, Pickwell is one of several players that will have to step up to fill the offensive void, and the way she dominated UNF today really bodes well for her going into the tournament and, slightly further along, her senior year. If she gets hot, they might not miss Mitchell's offense as badly (if at all), although they will certainly miss her post presence either way.

Tomorrow is senior day for the men's team. It's a very emotional time, and we have a very beatable team in North Florida in the building for tomorrow. This senior class doesn't want to be the one that let a dynastic reign slip away at the last hurdle, and after playing with such tremendous gusto against Jacksonville in the first half, I have to think they'll handle this team. Then again, stranger things have happened...

Softball season starts Tuesday. I'll have my full preview up at some point.