2009-10 Lady Pirate Preview: Looking Back
October 06, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 6, 2009
Below is the first of three installments that will preview the East Carolina women's basketball team's 2009-10 campaign. Parts two and three will feature the backcourt and frontcourt analysis.
Ask a head coach at any level of sport and he or she will profess that building a program is a long and most often arduous task. Seven seasons ago, Sharon Baldwin-Tener stormed into Greenville with aspirations of reviving a proud and tradition-rich program and she has not failed. While the culmination of the rebuilding process occurred in 2007 with the Lady Pirates' first-ever Conference USA Tournament title and first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 25 seasons, the Smyrna, Ga., native has shown no signs of complacency.
After a 2007-08 season that was not as successful as the program hoped, 2008-09 was a campaign ripe with change. Baldwin-Tener welcomed an entire new staff of three assistant coaches and a director of basketball operations in Roger Hodge, Adrienne Shuler, Jocelyn Wyatt and Allison Nichols, respectively. However, the team itself returned all but one starter as the squad, at least on paper, represented a mix of experience and youth.
ECU began the season with three-straight home wins, dispatching Hampton, Appalachian State and Presbyterian before hitting the road to face VCU and eventual WNBA first-round draft pick Quanitra Hollingsworth. Down by double-digits in the second half, senior LaCoya Terry put the team on her back and nearly carried the Lady Pirates past the Rams but ECU eventually fell short.
Returning home for the Lady Pirate Invitational, N.C. Central fell victim to a hot-shooting East Carolina team before the North Carolina A&T Aggies claimed the championship with a 72-53 triumph over the hosts.
A trip to nationally-ranked Virginia provided the Lady Pirates with a tough test to begin December, but ECU hung around before succumbing to the Cavaliers, 80-67. The Lady Pirates used a 68-63 road win over rival UNC Wilmington to jump start a four-game winning streak, which included a pair of victories in the Bahamas over Mercer and Florida Atlantic. Then, a trip to Miami served as the end of non-conference play as East Carolina split a pair of contests at the FIU Sun and Fun Classic to sit at 9-4 heading into January.
Marshall arrived in Minges Coliseum for the start of C-USA play on Jan. 3 and the Lady Pirates responded with one of their best efforts of the season, taking the tilt 70-47. However, three-consecutive road games resulted in three losses for ECU as it fell to 10-7 overall and 1-3 in league action.
A two-game homestand against Memphis and UAB stopped the skid for the Lady Pirates as they evened their conference record to 3-3, but the road woes continued at UCF and Southern Miss as East Carolina came up empty in both games. Wins in three of their next four contests, including a sweep of the league-leading Golden Eagles and Knights, put the Lady Pirates within striking distance of a top-four spot in the conference standings, but three losses in the last four games dropped ECU to eighth-place heading into the 2009 C-USA Tournament at Tulane.
The Lady Pirates opened the league tournament against a familiar foe in UAB, as it was the third time in the season that the teams would square off. East Carolina took the two regular-season meetings and the third time proved no different, resulting in a 73-59 win for the Lady Pirates. Then, in the quarterfinals, ECU stood opposite regular season champion and top-seeded SMU. The Lady Pirates held the lead with three minutes remaining, but the Mustangs outscored East Carolina 15-7 the rest of the way to take a narrow 77-69 win.
It was a tough way to end the season, but the Lady Pirates are poised to move forward and continue establishing their program as one of C-USA's best. Gone are all-conference performers Terry and Jasmine Young, but there is plenty of talent upon which to build. East Carolina returns three starters from the 2008-09 squad that finished 18-13 and collected the most regular season wins (17) since Baldwin-Tener took over for Dee Stokes.
