East Carolina University
Tulsa
Lady Pirates Falter At Tulsa
January 08, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2009
TULSA, Okla. - The East Carolina women's basketball team could not overcome Tulsa on the Golden Hurricane's home court Thursday night, falling 67-64 inside the Reynolds Center. The Lady Pirates dropped their first conference game of the season and now sit at 10-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play while Tulsa improved to 5-9 and 1-1 in C-USA action.
With the game tied at six in the early going, ReShawndra Jackson put her team up by three when she drilled a trey at the 15:26 mark. After Meoshi Bradley converted on a layup to then put her team up by five, the senior duo of Jasmine Young and LaCoya Terry netted five consecutive points to tie the score. Two free throws from Young with 9:47 remaining gave ECU a 17-14 lead, but Tulsa would go on a 4-1 run to balance the contest at 18-18. The Lady Pirates took control over the next seven minutes, using a 12-6 run to go up by six. However, the Golden Hurricane scored the last four points of the half to make the score at the break 30-28 in favor of East Carolina.
Young led the Lady Pirates in scoring at the half with six while Terry pulled down a team-high five boards. ECU also held the advantage from the field, firing at a .393 clip as compared to .310 for the home team. However, Tulsa did end the half with a slight 21-20 advantage on the glass.
The Golden Hurricane scored the first five points of the second stanza to take a three-point lead at the 17:30 mark, but the Lady Pirates went on a 7-4 run to tie the score at 37 with 15:20 remaining in the game. East Carolina held a three-point lead for much of the half, but Tulsa hung around and eventually captured the lead for good when Jackson hit a jumper at the 5:49 mark to give her team a 54-53 lead. Bradley would hit one-of-two free throws with 23 ticks left on the clock, making the score 65-61, but sophomore Kim Gay banked in a long three-pointer to pull the Lady Pirates within one with two seconds remaining. However, ECU could not get a shot off on its final possession.
Terry netted her second double-double of the season and third of her career, pouring in 13 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Gay led all scorers for the Lady Pirates with 15, a career high for the Eastman, Ga. native. Additionally, freshman Jean Best nearly completed a double-double of her own, picking up eight points and nine rebounds. The teams shot virtually the same, as East Carolina held a slight .353-.344 edge from the field. The Lady Pirates also turned a team second-best effort with 52 rebounds as compared to 45 for the Golden Hurricane.
ECU returns to conference play on Saturday, traveling to Dallas, Texas for a 3 p.m. tip with SMU inside Moody Coliseum.
