East Carolina University
Long Island
Women's Basketball Edges Long Island 80-73
December 29, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2006
East Carolina 80, Long Island 73 (PDF) 
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - Four Lady Pirates scored in double-figures to lead East Carolina to an 80-73 win over Long Island Friday evening at Minges Coliseum. The game marked not only the final game of the 2006 calendar year, but also the final non-conference game for the Lady Pirates. With the win, ECU improved to 5-8 on the season while LIU falls to 7-5.
The Blackbirds took the early 2-0 lead on a Mikealar Whippy jumper, but the Lady Pirates took their first lead of the game at the 18:10 mark on an Impris Manning layup. A pair of free throws by Jessica Slack put ECU up eight, 12-4, with just under 15 minutes to play in the half. Sonya Coleman's three pointer with 12:31 on the clock pulled the Blackbirds to within five, 16-11. After nearly two minutes without a basket by either team, Sara Oblak's jumper at the 10:20 mark cut the ECU lead to three, 16-13. Jasmine Young scored the Lady Pirates next five points, putting ECU back up by six, 23-17 with under nine to play in the half. Young's trey at the 6:20 mark increased the Lady Pirates lead to seven, 28-21. LIU went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 30-28, with 4:16 on the clock. A three point play by Valerie Nanima gave the Blackbirds their largest lead of the game, 33-29, with 3:38 to play, but the Lady Pirates fought back, going on a 10-0 run to end the half, taking a 39-33 lead into the break.
Nainima led all scorers with 10 at the break while it was Mills leading the Lady Pirates with nine points and three rebounds. Young poured in eight points while Nicole Days and Slack each added six points. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field and from behind the arc in the opening stanza, but it was the Blackbirds who shot 83.3 percent from the charity stripe in the first half compared to ECU's 57.1 percent. The Lady Pirates outrebounded LIU 19-12.
The Lady Pirates increased their lead to nine, 47-48, on a Slack layup with 15:30 on the clock. The Blackbirds cut the ECU lead to four, 55-51, on a three-pointer by Minna Sten with under eight to play in the game. A three point play by Young put the Lady Pirates back on top by seven, 62-55 with 5:58 remaining, but the Blackbirds would not give up, as they cut the lead back down to three on a pair of Nainima free throws with five minutes to play. The Lady Pirates proved to be too much for Long Island though, as they held on for the 80-73 victory.
Mills led all scorers with 24 points, tying her season high. She also added seven rebounds and three assists. Manning tallied a career-high 14 points in her first start of the 2006-07 season while Young recorded 14 points in her first game off the bench. LaCoya Terry also scored in double figures, finishing the game with 10 points. Nainima led the Blackbirds with 23 points and six rebounds while Whippy finished with 15 points. Marquita Thompson also scored in double figures, with 12.
The Lady Pirates return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 2 as they open the Conference USA portion of the schedule. ECU will host Marshall for a 7:00 p.m. tip from Minges Coliseum. The game is the second of a four-game home stand for the Lady Pirates.
