Women's Basketball Drops Seventh Straight in Double-Overtime
February 21, 2004 | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? The East Carolina women's basketball team dropped its seventh straight game of the season in a double-overtime loss to Cincinnati 78-72 Friday night in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaket Center.
ECU (14-11, 5-7) took a 10 point lead at intermission (40-30) and seemed to be on its way to its sixth conference win of the season. The Lady Pirates scored the first four points of the second half to take a 44-30 lead at the 18:57 mark.
The Bearcats (13-13, 4-8) would hold the Lady Pirates scoreless for almost seven minutes, forcing seven turnovers in a 16-0 run. Valerie King hit two of her four three-pointers in the run and Brittani Young started the run with a jumper and ended it with a putback for a 46-44 lead with 12:25 to go.
The two would trade baskets tying the game five times with neither team taking more than a four-point lead. After the Bearcats pulled ahead 56-52, ECU scored the next eight points to take a 60-56 lead with 50 seconds left, behind a pair of baskets by Courtney Willis and Jennifer Jackson.
Anne Stephens made a lay-up with 34 seconds left to pull within two and Treasure Humphries forced a turnover on the in bounds pass. Micah Harvey then drove the middle and scored with seven seconds left to tie the game. Jackson's three-point attempt for ECU bounced off the rim as regulation expired.
In the first overtime the teams traded scores as neither could go up by more than two. The Bearcats took a 67-65 lead with 1:54 left before Willis, who was 0-for-4 from the line so far in the extra period, made two to tie the game.
After the teams traded scores to open the second overtime, UC took the lead for good on a King triple. Young made two free throws for a 74-70 advantage with 1:47 left and rattled home a jumper with 28 seconds left to ice the game.
Willis led the Lady Pirates with 24 points and 19 rebounds, while Jackson added 19 points and 11 rebounds. ECU held a 55-38 rebounding advantage, but made just 9-of-20 foul shots, including 6-of-12 in the extra periods. The Bearcats held ECU to 3-of-13 shooting from the field in the overtimes while making 5-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line themselves.
ECU will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Louisville for a 2:00 pm tilt against the Cardinals.
