East Carolina University
Marshall
Lady Pirates Edged At Marshall, 85-83
January 18, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - The East Carolina women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit second half deficit, but couldn't complete the comeback, dropping a 85-83 decision to Marshall on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Pirates dip to 10-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play while the Herd improve to 10-7 on the season and 3-1 in C-USA action.
Freshman Jean Best started the scoring, converting a layup 31 seconds into the game for a quick 2-0 ECU advantage. After sophomore Tiahana Bowens put in a layup of her own, tying the score at the 14:24 mark, Marshall produced a 6-0 run, capped off by a Rashedah Henriques jumper to assume a 16-10 lead with 13 minutes left in the half. The Herd would push its advantage to 28-21 with 8:14 left, but the Lady Pirates scored seven-straight, including five by sophomore Allison Spivey, to knot the score once again at the 6:24 mark. A three-pointer by Casey Baker began an 8-0 run for Marshall as she netted all eight points to give her team a 36-28 lead.
The Herd would extend its advantage to 41-32 with a Chantelle Handy jumper with 2:10 remaining in the period, but East Carolina ripped off a 9-2 run, including five points from Spivey in 15 seconds as she hit a mid-range jumper to bring the Lady Pirates to within two at the break, 43-41.
Senior LaCoya Terry paced ECU in the first half, scoring 13 to lead a trio of Lady Pirates who scored in double figures for the period as Best and Spivey both netted 10. Sophomore Tiahana Bowens grabbed four rebounds in the stanza as East Carolina held a 25-20 edge on the glass. The Lady Pirates also enjoyed their best shooting half of the season, firing at a 56.3 clip from the field (18-for-32).
Marshall came out blazing in the second half, using a 15-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 58-42 at 16:22. ECU would claw its way back into the contest, getting within 66-60 with six minutes left in the game. However, the Herd stretched its lead back to 77-70 at the 1:42 mark. The Lady Pirates pulled within two at 82-80 with 11 seconds left when senior Jasmine Young converted a three-point play, but Marshall hit key free throws to pull out the victory.
Young and Terry both produced 20-point efforts on the afternoon, netting 20 and 22, respectively. Two other Lady Pirates scored in double-digits, as Spivey matched her career high with 18 while Best recorded 15.
The Herd ended up shooting .508 as a team while East Carolina recorded .456 efficiency from the field. The Lady Pirates did have the final advantage on the glass, owning a 41-38 margin. For Marshall, Chantelle Handy led all scorers with 25 while four other Herd players scored in double figures.
East Carolina returns home for the first time in three weeks on Thursday when it welcomes Memphis to Minges Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip.
