Lady Pirates Fall Victim to Buzzer-Beater
November 25, 2002 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- A last-second three-pointer by Nicole Rhem lifted South Carolina State to a 74-71 victory over East Carolina Monday night, spoiling Sharon Baldwin's homecourt debut as the Lady Pirates' head coach.
ECU (0-2) recovered from a five-point halftime deficit and led by as many as seven points, 62-55, with just over five minutes left in the game.
However, South Carolina stormed back behind the shooting of Rhem, who was 6-of-12 from the floor for 22 points, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.
ECU's Courtney Willis had a game-high 29 points and 11 rebounds, matching her career high. She was joined in double-figured scoring by teammate Jennifer Jackson (18) and Tali Robich (10). Jackson added a career-high nine rebounds.
The game was the first home contest for Baldwin, who made her ECU coaching debut this past Friday night with a loss at No. 1 Duke.
The Lady Pirates will next compete in the UNCG Marriott Classic, this Friday and Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. ECU will face Howard on Friday at 5 p.m. Saturday's consolation and championship games are slated for 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.
Coach Sharon Baldwin's Postgame Quotes
Post-game Quotes "I think the difference in the game was that we didn't play hard. We didn't play hard the whole game."
"I think we did some things well obviously. We rebounded the ball and that kept us in the game."
"I don't think we wanted to win tonight."
On Richardson's game-tying 3-point basket with 13 seconds remaining:
"She got a good look at it and knocked it down and then we broke down on the defensive end."
On SCSU's Nicole Rehm's game-winning shot:
"She can hit shots that far out. She hit a couple in warm-ups and hit a couple during the course of the game. We should have been out there guarding her, not letting her get a wide open shot."
On SCSU's defense:
"They did a good job in their zone. They were aggressive and we weren't shooting the ball very well."
"When you are in the zone, you have got to be able to knock down shots on the outside in order to pull out of it. We weren't able to knock down shots and therefore it cost us."
On the play of Courtney Willis:
"I think Courtney played to win. I am not sure but she may be the only player that played to win. She stepped up to the challenge."
"If she didn't do the things she did, it definitely would have been a long night."
On the play of Jennifer Jackson:
"I think she is getting more aggressive on the offensive and defensive ends. She made some nice moves and some big buckets for us."
