ETSU Battles on in Honor of Injured Teammate

MACON, Ga. - Over the past few season ETSU women’s basketball has been about winning, Championships and Latisha Belcher, Siarre Evans, and TaRonda Wiles

The three have been a huge part to the success over the past three years in Johnson City with their solid scoring talents. Evans ranks fifth all-time in points, while Wiles became the 17th player in Lady Buccaneer history to score over 1,000 points in her career. She joined the group following her 26-point performance at Arkansas Nov. 22.

But following that game, Wiles and every Lady Buc would find in hard to celebrate. After spending the last seven and a half months rehabbing from extensive knee surgery (left knee), senior post Latisha Belcher made her season debut at Arkansas but the return was short lived. Belcher, 2008-09 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, went down with a season-ending ACL injury in her right knee early in the second half against the Razorbacks.

The injury stopped Belcher from helping ETSU on the court against Stetson in it first round win at the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Women’s Basketball Championship but her teammate still had her leadership and her voice on the bench. The Martinsville, Va. native marched out of the ETSU locker room, knee brace and all to support her teammate. Belcher, one of only three ETSU players to collect 200 or more steals, had not forgotten the team motto.

She wore it plain on her ETSU women’s basketball T-Shirt “One Team, One Goal”. Belcher talked in team huddles cheered during and once or twice even look like she wanted to jump and cheer. Until her knee stopped but even an ACL injury could not keep Belcher from getting up at each timeout to high-five each of her fellow Lady Bucs as they came off the floor.

Belcher is scheduled to receive her degree this May and still has a red-shirt season available however, it is unclear if she will use the option. One thing that remain clear, Belcher will not forget one team one goal.