Lady Pirates Hit The Road Against Cincinnati and Louisville
February 18, 2004 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The East Carolina women's basketball team will hit the road looking to snap a six game Conference USA skid when they travel to Cincinnati Friday, Feb. 20 to take on the Bearcats at the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center with a 7 p.m. (EST) tip scheduled.
The Lady Pirates (14-10, 5-6) are looking to bounce back from a pair of home losses to No. 22 TCU (125-119) and No. 21 Houston (73-65) over the weekend. Against TCU, Courtney Willis recorded career-highs in points (40) and rebounds (21) in ECU and C-USA's first ever quadruple overtime game. Willis set a C-USA record for free throws made in a single game with 18, and her 40 points was the most in any C-USA game this season. Junior guard Jennifer Jackson recorded 29 points hitting 10-of-15 from the floor, including five three-pointers.
In ECU's last outing against Houston, Jackson led all scorers with 29 points and brought down 10 rebounds for her 11th career double-double. She needs just four more points to become the 19th Lady Pirate to record 1,000 points for her career. Willis added 23 points in the loss to extend her double-figure scoring streak to 24 games, and is averaging 19.1 points and 9.8 rebounds a game. Senior guard Alisha Bishop scored nine points against the Lady Cougars.
Cincinnati (12-13, 3-8) split a pair of road games last weekend defeating Southern Miss (77-64) on Friday night and falling to Tulane (61-50) on Sunday. The Bearcats have two players averaging double figures and are led by Debbie Merrill. The junior center leads the team with 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. This will mark the fifth meeting between the two schools, with Cincinnati holding a 3-1 advantage. ECU will continue its road trip on Sunday, Feb. 23 when they travel to Louisville for a 2 p.m. tip off against the Cardinals.
Louisville (16-8, 8-3) completed a road sweep last weekend over Tulane (48-47) and Southern Miss (67-58). The Cardinals are led by senior guard Sara Nord, who is averaging 17.8 points and 6.5 assists a game. Freshman center Jazz Covington is averaging 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds a contest. The series is tied between the two schools 1-1, with Louisville's win coming last year in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, 74-69.
The Lady Pirates will finish out the 2003-04 regular season on the road against instate rival Charlotte on Feb. 27, before heading to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas for the 2004 Conference USA Tournament, March 4-7.
