Lady Pirates Down Tulsa In Buzzer Beater, 62-61

Sunday, February 11

Tulsa, Okla.

5:30 PM

East Carolina University

Tulsa

February 11, 2007 | Women's Basketball

Feb. 11, 2007

Box Score

East Carolina 62, Tulsa 61 (PDF)
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TULSA, Okla.--Jasmine Young hit a 10-foot jumper as time expired to propel East Carolina to a 62-61 win over Tulsa Sunday evening at the Reynolds Center in a game that was televised nationally on ESPN2. The win is the Lady Pirates' third in a row, the longest streak this season, moving them to 12-13 overall and 7-5 in Conference USA play. Tulsa fell to 9-15, 4-8 in league play.

Cherie Mills got the Lady Pirates on the board first, scoring the first basket of the contest at the 18:44 mark. The Golden Hurricane scored the next two, going up 5-2 on a Tandem Mays three-pointer. Back to back baskets by Mills and Impris Manning put East Carolina back on top, 6-5, at the 16:23 mark.

The lead switched hands three times before Jillian Robbins' free throw with 11:52 on the clock gave Tulsa the 12-11 edge. Five straight points by Robbins sparked a 7-0 run by the Hurricane, giving them a 19-13 lead with 8:26 remaining in the half.

Jasmine Young's jumper ended the TU run, cutting the lead down to four, 19-15. After a pair of free throws by Valerie Siemens, the Lady Pirates put together a 4-0 spurt to pull within two, 21-19. Robbins' basket with 4:34 to play in the first period increased the Hurricane lead to four before the Lady Pirates put together a 7-0 run to end the half. Young's trey tied the contest at 23 while Jessica Slack's 10-foot jumper with 3:04 remaining gave ECU the 26-23 halftime lead.

Robbins led all scorers with 10 at the break. Mills had a team best eight points, Young added seven while Manning led ECU with eight rebounds at the half. The Lady Pirates shot 30.6 percent in the opening half while holding TU to 24.3 percent.

Siemems hit a three-pointer to open the second half, tying the game at 26-26. Just as the first half started, the second stanza saw three lead changes in the first three minutes with the Lady Pirates taking the 32-30 edge on a Mills layup with 16:53 to play.

A 9-2 run by ECU increased the Lady Pirates' lead to seven, 39-32, with 15 minutes on the clock. LaCoya Terry's three-point play with 12:39 remaining gave ECU a ten point, 49-39, advantage but Robbins' jumper with 10:29 on the clock sparked an 8-0 run by the Hurricane to pull within two, 53-51, with eight minutes to play.

A Mills free throw briefly stopped the Tulsa run, but Robbins hit back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at 54 with 4:44 remaining. Robbins' third-straight basket on the next possession gave Tulsa its first lead since midway through the first half.

ECU fought back, tying the game on a pair of Terry free throws. Tulsa scored three unanswered points to take a 61-58 lead with one minute remaining in the game. Terry followed with a bucket with 38.2 showing to cut the lead to one, 61-60.

Tulsa's Dreiling had a shot to put the Hurricane up by three with less than ten seconds to play, but it hit the rim and Mills grabbed the rebound. She passed the ball to Terry who drove to the baseline where she was triple-covered but shook free to deliver a pass to Young at the top of the key. Young caught the ball and shot a last-second jumper as time expired to give the Lady Pirates the 62-61 win.

Robbins led all scorers with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Mills led East Carolina with 15 points and nine rebounds. Terry added 14 points and six rebounds. Young finished the game with 12 points, five assists and three steals. Manning pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds in the win, adding four points.

"I am very proud of our team and the way they played this weekend," said head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. We are coming home with two road wins over a pair of great teams."

East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum Thursday evening to host UTEP in a 7:00 p.m. matchup. The Lady Pirates will then welcome league-leading Tulane Saturday afternoon for ECU's Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.