Lady Pirates Face Tough Test At SMU
January 22, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2010
East Carolina Women's Basketball Gameday Central
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
DALLAS, Texas - The East Carolina women's basketball team completes a three-game road trip, facing defending Conference USA regular season champion SMU Saturday at 6 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
Despite a 77-74 setback at Rice in their last contest, the Lady Pirates have won eight of their last ten contests and sit in second-place in the league standings, a half game behind UAB which has won all four of its C-USA affairs.
Ashley Clarke led the East Carolina offense against the Owls with 17 points while Kelly Smith added 11. Clarke also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
The Lady Pirates shot well despite the setback, firing at 52 percent while Rice converted 39.4 percent of its attempts. ECU also held the edge on the boards, 37-29 while converting 83.3 percent from the free throw line. However, the Owls pulled down 16 offensive rebounds, helping them seal the victory at the end.
The Lady Pirates find themselves ranked in the top three in the league in 13 different statistical categories, including first in scoring offense (75.7 ppg), scoring margin (+12.4), field goal percentage (.479), three-point field goal percentage defense (.271), rebounds allowed (34.2 rpg) and rebounding margin (+5.3).
SMU is an impressive 13-4 overall and 3-1 in league play as it enters Saturday's tilt. The Mustangs have won three-straight games, including a 70-59 victory over Tulane in Dallas last Sunday. Brittany Gilliam, a 2009-10 Preseason All-Conference USA selection, leads the offense with 13.1 points per contest, while Christine Elliott is tops in rebounding at 7.4 a game. SMU shoots the ball at a .418 clip while opponents slightly outrebound the Mustangs by a 0.3 margin (38.7-38.4).
The series between the schools is tied, 3-3, but SMU has won the last three meetings. ECU holds a record of 1-1 in games played at Moody Coliseum.
WHEN WILL YOU BE BACK?
The Lady Pirates are credited with a 275-326 (.458) record away from Greenville since the program began before the 1969-70 campaign. In 2008-09, ECU was 3-9 in true road contests while 3-2 at neutral sites. Since Baldwin-Tener took over the reigns, the Lady Pirates are 47-72 (.395) in front of non-partisan crowds. The team was just 1-7 in league games on the road last season, salvaging a 70-60 win at UAB in the final conference away contest of 2008-09.
THE AFTERMATH: RICE
Rice now owns a 4-3 lead in the series between the schools while ECU dropped to 0-3 all-time at Tudor Fieldhouse ... Ashley Clarke scored in double figures for the 14th time this season, netting 18 points, while Kelly Smith put in 11 for her second-straight double figure game ... The Lady Pirates' .520 shooting percentage marked the ninth time this year the team has eclipsed the 50 percent plateau ... East Carolina continued its recent success at the free throw line, making 83 percent (20-for-24) - the fifth time in six games the Lady Pirates have surpassed 80 percent ... ECU out-rebounded an opponent for the 13th time this season (38-30) ... The Lady Pirates' next win on the road in Conference USA play will give them one more than they had in total last season when East Carolina picked up just one at UAB.
INTO THE WEST
When comparing the Lady Pirate record against the East and West schools in Conference USA, there lies a striking contrast. Since joining the league, East Carolina is 38-25 (.603) versus its East bretheren and just 15-25 (.375) against the West. In 2008-09, the Lady Pirates recorded a 6-4 ledger when playing East foes and a 2-4 mark when battling West members. ECU picked up wins over Rice and UTEP, swept UAB and split with the remaining East constituents.
KELLY COLLECTING THE THREE-BALL
After transferring from West Virginia and sitting out the required year before she could suit up for ECU, Kelly Smith will tell you that she is shaking off some of the rust from that long layoff. Anyone who has seen her play recently might argue that she is ready to pick up where she left off as the Lady Pirates continue conference play. In the last six contests, Smith has drilled 15 three-point field goals, including a 5-for-5 showing against Marshall and 3-for-3 at Houston.
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
The Lady Pirates are among the top 50 in many categories in the latest national rankings. ECU is fifth in field goal percentage (.479), 17th in assists per game (16.7), 23rd in three-point field goal defense (.271), 25th in scoring offense, 29th in three-point field goal percentage (.372), 38th in scoring margin (+12.4), 46th in rebound margin (+5.3) and 47th in steals per game (10.6). Additionally, Ashley Clarke ranks 31st in assists per game and 71st in steals per game (2.5) while Allison Spivey is 72nd in assist/turnover ratio (1.62).
SUPER BALANCED
While ECU may not have a C-USA Player-of-the-Year candidate or even a league player-of-the-week award winner this season, it can at least boast a balanced squad ... The Lady Pirates have six players averaging 7.6 or more points per game. Every member of the 2009-10 roster played, scored and had a rebound in the 103-59 win over Houston-Baptist. There are also six players averaging more than 20 minutes per game. In C-USA games, three players are putting in double figures in scoring.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THAT WITH THE WHOLE TEAM?
During the preseason, Baldwin-Tener called her 2009-10 Lady Pirates
the most unselfish team she has coached. Those words have rung true so far in the season, as ECU has recorded 300 (16.7 per game) assists to its opponents' 218. Additionally, the squad is 13-2 this season when recording more helpers than its opponent. The Lady Pirates are just ahead of last year's pace when the team ranked second in C-USA, averaging 16.19 assists per contest.
50 PERCENT? NO PROBLEM
The Lady Pirates are enjoying another great shooting season, firing at a .479 clip in 18 contests. ECU has shot 50 percent or above in nine games, including two games reaching the 60-percent plateau.
KEEP RACKING THEM UP
The 33 wins between the 2008-09 season and the current campaign are tied for the seventh-most in a two-year span in program history - three behind the 2005-07 seasons.
UP NEXT FOR THE LADY PIRATES
After wrapping up the three-game road trip at SMU, the Lady Pirates return to familar surroundings for their next two contests, facing current league leader UAB Jan. 28 before taking on Memphis Jan. 30. ECU picked up three wins over the Blazers last season, including a 73-59 victory in the first round of the 2009 Conference USA Tournament. The Lady Pirates have won 10 of the 16 meetings between the schools. East Carolina split with Memphis in 2008-09, recording an 83-66 triumph at Minges Coliseum in January before dropping a 74-68 decision at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse in February.
