ECU Travels To Gardner-Webb Saturday
December 04, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2009
ECU Women's Basketball Gameday Central
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team, 7-0 for only the second time in school history, plays the first contest of a six-game road swing Saturday, facing off against Gardner-Webb at 4:30 p.m. at Paul Porter Arena.
The Lady Pirates play just their second road contest of the season, having defeated American University 70-65 in Washington, D.C. Nov. 22. Sophomore Ashley Clarke notched her first career double-double against the Rams, scoring 13 points to go along with a personal-best 10 assists. Five players scored in double figures in the game, including a career-high 13 by sophomore Crystal Wilson. ECU also shot 60 percent, marking the third time this year the team has matched or surpassed the 50 percent plateau. Gardner-Webb enters Saturday off to its best start in school history (7-1), having routed Wofford, 78-55, last Tuesday.
THE SERIES: GARDNER-WEBB
East Carolina and Gardner-Webb meet for the fifth time in a series that began in 2001. The Lady Pirates own a 4-0 lead and took a 81-53 win last season over the Lady Bulldogs at Minges Coliseum. ECU has never faced Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs.
EAST CAROLINA AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH
East Carolina holds an all-time mark of 32-6 (.842) against the current members of the Big South Conference. The Lady Pirates have squared off against Charleston Southern (1-0), Coastal Carolina (4-0), Gardner-Webb (4-0), High Point (9-4), Presbyterian (3-0), Radford (2-1), UNC Asheville (2-0) and Winthrop (7-1). The Lady Pirates defeated Presbyterian on Nov. 21, 2008 in Greenville, taking the contest 61-28 and allowing the third-smallest single game point total in program history.
LADY PIRATES VERSUS THEIR FELLOW TAR HEELS
ECU owns a 209-143 (.594) ledger when facing other squads from North Carolina. The Lady Pirates have taken on Appalachian State (28-10), Barton (9-1), Campbell (31-6), Charlotte (8-22), Chowan (4-0), Davidson (1-2), Duke (9-6), Elon (6-2), Fayetteville State (3-1), Gardner-Webb (4-0), High Point (9-4), Meredith (2-0), North Carolina (11-16), UNC Asheville (2-0), UNC Greensboro (16-5), UNC Pembroke (2-0), UNC Wilmington (29-19), North Carolina A&T (10-5), NC Central (5-0), N.C. State (6-32), Wake Forest (6-3) and Western Carolina (8-9).
OTHERS TAKING NOTE
The Lady Pirate fans are not the only people taking note of the team's play so far this season. In the third ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll, East Carolina received 16 votes. It marks the second-straight campaign in which the Lady Pirates have appeared on the list. ECU garnered as many as six votes during the 2008-09 season.
LEADING THE NATION
The Lady Pirates have played solid basketball thus far this season, and it has shown in the first national statistics rankings. ECU paces the country in three-point field goal defense (15.8), is ninth in field goal percentage (49.0), ninth in assists per game (17.8), 22nd in rebound margin (+10.7) and 23rd in scoring margin (+20.0) and steals per game (11.8). Additionally, Ashley Clarke ranks 27th nationally in assists (5.8) and 28th in steals (3.0) while Allison Spivey checks in a 30th in three-point field goal percentage (50.0).
WHAT SOPHOMORE SLUMP??
If sophomores are supposed to struggle, don't tell that to Ashley Clarke or Chareya Smith. The duo represents two of the three (junior Allison Spivey is the other) ECU players who are averaging at or near double-digits in points with 14.6 and 9.9 per game, respectively. Additionally, Clarke has scored in double figures in six of seven contests thus far.
FIRST TO 30...FIELD GOALS
East Carolina converted 30 field goals versus VCU, marking the 17th time since the start of the 2006-07 campaign that the Lady Pirates have accomplished the feat.
NICE NON-CONFERENCE NOTE
East Carolina has always regarded non-conference games as a chance to get better before heading into the rigors of C-USA play. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the Lady Pirates have recently excelled in those affairs. In its last 20 non-league games, ECU has produced a record of 16-4 (.800). The four losses, to VCU, North Carolina A&T, Virginia and Marist, all occurred during the 2008-09 season and all four teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
