East Carolina University
Mercer
Lady Pirates Edge Mercer In Bahamas Opener
December 19, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2008
NASSAU, Bahamas - Led by senior LaCoya Terry's first double-double of the season, the East Carolina women's basketball team edged Mercer, 61-57, in its opening contest of the 2008 Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout Friday night inside the Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium. The Lady Pirates improve to 7-3 overall while the Bears fall to 6-4 on their campaign.
Mercer scored the first bucket of the game, a trey by Cristin Seymour, but ECU stormed back, going on an 18-7 run over the next seven minutes to take an 18-10 lead. Courtney Ford brought the Bears back to within 19-15 with a three-pointer. However, the Lady Pirates ripped off nine straight, capped off by a jumper from senior Jasmine Young, to establish a 28-15 cushion with six minutes left in the half. From there, the teams would play even basketball as East Carolina took a 35-23 lead into the break.
Sophomore Allison Spivey led the Lady Pirates with eight points in the stanza while Terry pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Mercer had a slight 21-18 advantage on the glass but ECU shot 41.4 percent from the field, as compared to a 27.6 clip for the Bears.
A fastbreak layup by Spivey with 16:07 left in the game gave the Lady Pirates a 10-point lead, 43-33, but the Bears rallied with a 14-4 run, including a game-tying deep trey from LaToya Jackson, to knot the score at 47 a piece. However, Spivey hit two free throws and a three-pointer in succession to re-establish a five-point advantage for ECU.
After Jackson pulled Mercer to within two at 52-50 with a three-pointer, Terry netted four consecutive points to give her team a 56-50 lead with just over four minutes left on the clock. The Bears sliced their deficit to two, 59-57, with 11 seconds left on a jumper by Natasha Doh, but Spivey was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and hit two free throws to seal the contest for the Lady Pirates.
Terry netted her first double-double of the season and the first for the team, scoring 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds. It was her 17th-straight double-figure scoring effort as she has now led the team in scoring all 10 contests. Spivey also scored in double-digits with 17 while freshman Jean Best poured in 10 points for her second-consecutive double-figure effort. Additionally, Best nearly completed a double-double of her own, as she grabbed seven rebounds. Young also dished out a team-high four assists.
East Carolina held a slight edge from the field, firing at a 37.3 clip as compared to 34.5 for Mercer. However, the Bears out-rebounded the Lady Pirates by four, 43-39.
The Lady Pirates will close out their stay in the Bahamas with a contest against Florida Atlantic inside Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip.
