Lady Pirates Fall To Basketball Travelers 68-66
November 10, 2003 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The East Carolina women's basketball team dropped its exhibition game against the Basketball Travelers (WBC Ilirija), 68-66, in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Monday night.
The Lady Pirates jumped out to an early 11-2 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers from Viola Cooper and Jennifer Jackson. WBC Ilirija would strike back over the next 2:41, scoring on four possessions and tying the game at 11-11, with 13 minutes until the half.
Over the next 10 minutes, ECU extended its lead to six, 27-21, on a 17' baseline jumper by Katie Clould. But WBC would once again cut into the lead behind a pair of baskets by Spela Prevodnik to tie the game at 27-27.
In the final four minutes of the half, each team would trade baskets with ECU taking a 37-35 half-time lead.
The second-half started out the same as the first for the Pirates, with another Jackson three-pointer and four baskets underneath by senior center Courtney Willis, to extend the lead by nine at 50-41. Jackson was 6-of-14 from the field with 15 points and three rebounds, while Willis added 15 points off of a 7-of-10 night from the floor, with five boards.
ECU maintained its lead over WBC until Neva Kalan's eight-foot jumper tied the game at 66-66 with 3:44 remaining. Kalan, who was 5-of-6 from the field with 13 points, put WBC up 68-66 after hitting a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. The Lady Pirates had one last chance, but Jackson's three-point try fell short.
"I am at a loss for words right now," said ECU women's basketball coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. "They (WBC) played harder than us tonight. I thought our effort was there, we just made to many mistakes and didn't play well enough on defense to win the game. "Our goal tonight was to play everybody, see how they reacted and what they could do. Now we just have to get back out there and correct our mistakes."
Cooper collected 12 points and Shanita Sutton added nine points and eight rebounds for the Pirates.
The Lady Pirates will open up the regular season Sunday, Nov. 23 in Morgantown, W. Va. when they take on West Virginia. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start at WVU Coliseum.
