Lady Pirate Basketball Faces Off Against Undefeated West Virginia
December 20, 2004 | Women's Basketball
About the Pirates: East Carolina will look to break through their three-game slump when they host West Virginia Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. In their last outing, the Pirates narrowly missed picking up their third win of the season this past Saturday, Dec. 18, as they fell to in-state rival UNC Wilmington 56-57. The Pirates (2-7) tied the game with 26 seconds remaining on a two-foot jumper by Jennifer Jackson. After LaToya Horton hit the front end of two free throws to put the Pirates up one, 56-55, Wilmington's Meg Withrow drop through the Pirates defense and hit the game-winning lay-up with 10 seconds to go.
Jackson, who leads the Pirates in scoring 15.1 points, led all Pirates in scoring with 20 points and moved to within 10 points of tenth place on ECU's all-time scoring list. Currently she has 1,168 career points. She has averaged 21 points and connected on 50.8 percent of her shots (31-of-61) in the last four games. Against Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the Lady Pirate Invitational, Jackson netted a career-best 34 points, hitting 13-of-21 shots from the floor.
Sutton, a 6-0 forward, is the only other Pirate to average double-figures with her 10.6 points per game. She posted her first career double-double against Cal State Fullerton (14 points and 11 rebounds) en route to being named to the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout all-tournament team and has recorded double-digit games in the Pirates last six outings. Sutton leads ECU in rebounding with 5.0 boards per contest.
Viola Cooper comes into the contest averaging 7.7 points and 3.1 assists per game. She is Conference USA's top free throw shooter (88.9 percent) and ranks 13th in assists (3.11) and 13th in assist to turnover ration (0.78).
Head Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener got some outstanding play from sophomore transfer Amanda Mills in her Pirate debut as she collected eight points, four boards and two blocked shots in 21 minutes of action.
ECU's lone consistency can be found on the boards as they have equaled or out rebounded seven of their nine opponents on the season (333-301) by an average margin of 3.6 and currently rank 83rd in the nation.
About West Virginia: The Mountaineers bring a perfect record into Tuesday's game at Williams Arena in 2004,8-0. They have three players averaging double-figures and are led by sophomore guard Meg Bulger's and her 18.6 points per game. Senior's Sherrell Sowho (17.4 points) and Yolanda Paige (10.3 points) are the others in double-figures. Paige can also dish the ball as she is the nations leader in assists per game at 11.1.
The Series: This will mark the fourth time the two schools have met. The Pirates hold a 2-1 series edge dating back to 1980, where they won the first two meetings before dropping the season opener last year in Morgantown, W. Va., 82-61. In that game, former Pirate Courtney Willis scored a team-high 14 points, hitting all eight shots from the free throw line. Viola Cooper added 10 points and ECU out rebounded WVU 40-36.
Game Day Promotions: Pirate fans that bring a non-perishable canned good item will recieve free admission to the Tuesday, Dec. 21 game.
