GAMEDAY PREVIEW: East Carolina vs. Temple

Game 25: East Carolina vs. Temple
Date	Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017
Time	5:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum)
Coverage	Live Stats \\\ Watch Live \\\ WZMB Radio \\\ East Carolina Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUWomensHoops \\\ #ECUndaunted \\\ #2FTN

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina (10-14, 1-10) hosts Temple (18-5, 9-2 AAC) in its final game of a three-game home stand Saturday. ECU looks to snap its eight-game losing streak at 5 p.m. against the Owls in Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates sit in sole possession of last place in the American Athletic Conference entering Saturday's matchup with third-place Temple. Last time the two met Temple defeated East Carolina 78-47 in Philadelphia on January 11, taking the all-time series lead 3-1.

The Purple and Gold averages 63.2 points per game this season. ECU has scored 60-plus points in each of the last three games. Prior to that the Pirates scored over 60 points just once in its eight previous games. Kristen Gaffney is leading the team with 15.3 points per game and has strung together five-consecutive games in double figures. She's averaging a team-best 32.3 minutes per game and tallied her third double-double of the season in the Pirates 10-point loss to No. 22 USF on Wednesday.

Scouting the Owls
Temple holds an 18-5 record entering Saturday's game and is receiving votes in this week's AP Top-25 poll. The Owls have won two games in a row after losing back-to-back American Athletic Conference games to No. 20 USF (Jan. 29) and No. 1 Connecticut (Feb. 1). Prior to the pair of losses to nationally ranked opponents, Temple had won 12-straight games and was undefeated at home. The Owls have four players averaging in double figures with Feyonda Fitzgerald leading the squad with 16.5 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. Tanaya Atkinson nearly averages a double-double with a team-best 8.3 boards per game and 12.4 points. The Owls average 70.7 points per game and have held opponents to 59.6 points per game, outscoring them by an average of 11.1 points per game this season.

The Series
Temple leads the all-time series 3-1 and is 1-0 inside Minges Coliseum. The Owls won the last meeting 78-47 in Philadelphia, Pa., on January 11. East Carolina's only win against Temple was March 7, 2015 when the Pirates won 77-71 in the AAC Tournament.

Last Time Out (Feb. 8)
East Carolina's Kristen Gaffney posted her third double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the Pirates' 76-66 loss to No. 22 USF Wednesday night. The Pirates fall to 1-10 in the American Athletic Conference while the Bulls remain in second place with an 8-2 league record.

Kitija Laksa led all scorers with 34 points and six rebounds for the Bulls. It marked the first 30-point performance by an opponent since USF's Courtney Williams scored 34 in East Carolina's upset over the then-ranked No. 25 Bulls on February 15, 2017.

The Pirates led 39-37 at halftime after leading by as many as eight points in the second quarter. It was the first ECU halftime lead since the Purple and Gold played SMU on January 7. East Carolina went on to win 58-57, its lone AAC win of the season. Joining Gaffney in double figure scoring was Khadidja Toure and Antoinette Bannister who had 11 and 10 points, respectively. It was the second time in three games that three Pirates scored in double figures.

Macy Ascending On ECU All-Time Coaching Wins List
Heather Macy now owns the second-most wins by a head coach in program history. With 11 more victories, she will surpass Sharon Baldwin-Tener (2002-10), who tops the list with 127.

Holston Nominated for NABC Good Works Team
Holston was named a nominee for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team. The Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport.

Bannister Comes Up Clutch
East Carolina played in some tight games early on this season, building a 4-0 record when the margin of victory is five points or less. Redshirt senior guard Antoinette Bannister was a big reason for this success as she drained some big shots for the Purple and Gold. She canned a triple with eight seconds left against Detroit to send the game into overtime before hitting three free throws with 10 seconds on the clock versus Marist to give ECU the win by two points. Bannister also nailed a huge three with two seconds remaining against Ball State to force overtime as East Carolina out-scored the Cardinals 19-6 in the extra period. Most recently, Bannister banked a trey with 15 seconds left in regulation against SMU marking the fourth time this season she has netted the game-winning point for ECU.

Educate Me
This year's Education Day brought a crowd of 4,958 to Minges Coliseum. That number stands as the second highest in facility history for a women's basketball game.

1. Nov. 20, 2015 - 5,408 vs. Presbyterian
2. Nov. 15, 2016 - 4,958 vs. UNC Wilmington
3. Dec. 31, 2014 - 4,706 vs. Connecticut

Three Me
The loss at Temple snapped a 218-game streak of that East Carolina made at least one three-point basket. Prior to Temple, the last time the Pirates did not make at least one was Feb. 6, 2010 at UCF. The Pirates have now made a trey in 225 of the last 226 games.

Pirates Picked Sixth in AAC Preseason Poll
ECU was picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference for the 2016-17 season according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Connecticut was chosen as the unanimous preseason favorite with 100 points, ahead of Temple in second place (87) and USF in third (86). Tulane accumulated 73 points for fourth place, while SMU rounded out the top five with 50. East Carolina received 49 points in the poll and was ranked ahead of Memphis (47), UCF (41), Tulsa (33), Cincinnati (23) and Houston (16).

Top-50 Signing Class Arrives
Freshmen Dominique Claytor, Alexis Cortez, Raven Johnson and junior Thais Oliveira, signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Pirates in November 2015, comprising the No. 49 overall class nationally, according to the Dan Olsen Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. The quartet marked ECU's first top-50 signing class in program history.

Pirates in the Community
ECU Women's Basketball players have logged more than 700 hours of community service so far this year and have accumulated over 500 hours each of the last several seasons. They have put in time at the Cypress Glen Retirement Community, The Boys and Girls Club of Pitt County and Elmhurst Elementary School among many others. On Sunday, ECU volunteered with Upward Basketball where the players taught basketball skills drills to attendees.

Up Next
East Carolina hits the road for the first time since January 31 when the Pirates travel to Memphis Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Antoinette Bannister

Dominique Claytor

Alexis Cortez

Kristen Gaffney

Raven Johnson

Thais Oliveira

Khadidja Toure

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