East Carolina University
Western Carolina
Defense Lifts ECU Over Western Carolina, 70-59
November 15, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2009
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East Carolina 70, Western Carolina 59
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team forced 20 Western Carolina turnovers and recorded 16 steals on its way to a 70-59 non-conference victory Sunday at Minges Coliseum. The Lady Pirates improve to 2-0 while the Catamounts fall to 0-2.
Head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener is now six victories away from becoming the winningest head coach in program history. She also tied Cathy Andruzzi for second-place as she now owns 105 wins at East Carolina.
"I thought our defense was solid for most of the game," Baldwin-Tener stated. "In the second half, we were able to pressure them into turnovers and convert on the other end. It was a good win for us today but playing UNC Wilmington on Thursday presents a great challenge."
Sophomore Jean Best put ECU ahead 2-0 just one minute in when she converted on a layup. The lead stretched to 7-0 on a Kelly Smith layup before Western Carolina scored its first points of the game at the 16:12 mark.
Freshman Celeste Stewart gave the Lady Pirates their largest lead of the contest at 11-2 when she found junior Shuanda Ashford on a well-executed backdoor pass for the layup with 14:06 remaining in the period. Sophomore Crystal Wilson then put in a fast break layup from junior Allison Spivey to force a 30-second timeout from the Catamount sideline at 12:36.
After Kendra Carroll pulled Western Carolina back within nine with a jumper at the 11:32 mark, sophomore Ashley Clarke knocked in a layup to ignite a 7-2 run that put ECU ahead 22-8 with just under eight minutes left in the half. However, the Catamounts out-scored the Lady Pirates 6-2 over the next three minutes to cut the lead to 10 points.
Western Carolina mounted a charge in the final three minutes, trimming a 31-18 deficit to 35-26 at the break. Carroll scored the last six points for the Catamounts.
Chareya Smith and Kim Gay paced the offense in the half for East Carolina, netting seven points each, while Best pulled down a team-best five rebounds. Additionally, Spivey dished out a squad-high four assists.
Both teams shot well in the half, with the Lady Pirates firing at 50 percent while the Catamounts produced a mark of 48.1. ECU had the edge on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds as compared to 12 for WCU.
Best pushed the Lady Pirate advantage back to double digits, converting on a layup at 17:38 to make the score 38-28. However, the Catamounts rallied again, out-scoring the home team 14-4 over the next 6:38 to tie the game at 42-42.
After Gay put East Carolina back in front with a free throw at 9:54 to make the score 45-44, the Lady Pirates put together a 9-0 run over a span of three and a half minutes to move ahead by 10.
Western Carolina drew within eight, 61-53, with 2:19 left to play but the Catamounts ran out of time and were forced to put ECU on the line. The Lady Pirates calmly hit seven of nine free throws to seal the victory.
Clarke enjoyed her second-straight 20-point performance, netting 20 to compliment the 22 she scored against Charlotte on Friday. Chareya Smith was the other ECU player to reach double-figures, setting a new career high with 11. She also paced the Lady Pirates on the glass, picking up a personal-high seven rebounds. Additionally, Spivey led the team with five steals, a career high, and five assists.
ECU shot the ball well for the second-straight game, making 27 of 56 attempts from the field for a percentage of 48.6 as compared to 41.7 for WCU. The Lady Pirates were also solid from the charity stripe, knocking down 72.7 percent of their tries. East Carolina fared well on the glass, out-rebounding the visitors 37-29 while picking up 10 offensive boards.
The Lady Pirates return to the court Thursday, Nov. 19 when they welcome in-state rival UNC Wilmington to Minges Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip.
