East Carolina University
Presbyterian
Lady Pirates Top Presbyterian, 61-28
November 21, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2008
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team won its third consecutive game to open the season, besting Presbyterian 61-28 Friday night inside Minges Coliseum. The Lady Pirates are now 3-0 overall while the Blue Hose drop to 0-3 on their campaign.
The 28 points allowed ties for the third-fewest in program history, matching an effort in which East Carolina defeated Chowan, 81-28, on Feb. 16, 1974.
Lauren Cochran put ECU ahead, 2-0, just 32 seconds into the game when she converted a layup. After the Lady Pirates pushed ahead 4-0, Presbyterian got on the scoreboard when Katlin Moore drilled a three-pointer. The squads would trade points over the next four minutes, as the score favored East Carolina 10-9 at the first media timeout. The Lady Pirates stretched their advantage to 14-9 with just under 10 minutes left in the half, but the Blue Hose ended a scoreless span of 6:19 to cut the deficit to 16-11 as Moore hit a runner in the lane with 6:32 left in the stanza. However, LaCoya Terry scored the next six points for ECU to give her team a 22-11 lead with 2:44 remaining.
In all, the Lady Pirates used an 8-5 run over the last seven minutes of the half to take a 24-14 advantage into halftime.
For the third-straight first half this season, Terry scored in double figures as she netted 10 on 5-for-11 shooting. The senior also cleaned up on the glass, collected four boards. Sophomore Allison Spivey paced East Carolina, however, corralling five rebounds. Senior Jasmine Young distributed the ball well, dishing out five assists, just one off her per game average. The Lady Pirates out-rebounded an opponent in the first half for the first time this campaign, enjoying a 27-15 advantage. ECU also held Presbyterian to just 14 points on 26 percent shooting.
Terry converted a three-point play just 13 seconds into the second half, pushing the Lady Pirate lead to 13. East Carolina would go on to score nine straight points to begin the stanza, assuming a 33-14 advantage and forcing a Blue Hose timeout at the 17:34 mark. Moore then hit a trey for Presbyterian, ending a 3:08 scoreless stretch to begin the half. A layup by Young with 13:32 left in the game gave the Lady Pirates their largest lead of the game to that point, 41-22, and would get larger as ECU scored the next 10 points to take a 29-point advantage. The Blue Hose then ended another six-minute scoring drought when Amanda Mills hit two free throws with just under eight minutes remaining. Still playing solid defense, the Lady Pirates held Presbyterian to just four points the rest of the game, cruising to the 33-point win.
Terry led East Carolina in scoring for the third-straight contest, pouring in 13 while collecting four rebounds and four steals. Spivey was the top performer on the glass for the first time this season, grabbing eight boards, six of which were defensive. With 10 assists, Young produced her first double-digit effort of the year.
The Lady Pirates allowed just six field goals as the Blue Hose shot 28 percent on the evening. Homestanding ECU turned in another 40-plus percent mark from the field, firing at a clip of 41 percent. Out-rebounding an opponent for the first time this season, the Lady Pirates held a 47-22 advantage.
East Carolina takes to the road for the first time this season on Tuesday night, when it faces former Colonial Athletic Association rival Virginia Commonwealth. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.
