East Carolina University
Mount Olive (Exhibition)
Women's Hoops Tallies Exhibition Win, 114-60
November 07, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2010
East Carolina 114, Mount Olive 60 
Coach Macy and Players Postgame Comments (Video)
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Senior Allison Spivey led six East Carolina players in double figures with 21 points while the Pirates forced 49 turnovers and recorded 26 steals to highlight a 114-60 exhibition win over Mount Olive Saturday night at Minges Coliseum. Had the game counted as a regular season or postseason affair, the Pirates would have fallen just two points shy of setting a school record for points scored in a game.
"We like to call the steal and score phenomenon a flurry and we went on a big one in the first half," head coach Heather Macy said. "I thought our effort was good for stretches in this game. We have a week to work on executing better in the halfcourt as well as rotating better and guarding dribble penetration."
The contest featured 51 combined fouls as the Trojans committed 29, allowing ECU to convert 31 of its 40 free throw attempts. The Pirates also held the advantage in field goal percentage, firing at a 47.4 clip as compared to a 45.7 mark for the visitors. East Carolina dominated the glass, outrebounding Mount Olive 43-26. The Pirates ended the evening with additional advantages in assists (23-12), three-point field goals made (9-6), free throws made (31-20) and steals (27-4).
Complementing Spivey's output were Chareya Smith and Crystal Wilson, who dropped in 18 points each, as well as Ashley Clarke, Ariana Jackson and Shala Hodges who netted 12, 12 and 10, respectively. Spivey also nailed five of her eight attempts from beyond the arc to go along with five steals while Smith, Spivey and Wilson made good on six free throw tosses. Clarke distributed the ball well, collecting eight assists.
"We really started to pick up the pace and get after people on the defensive end and it was fun to play that way," Spivey stated. "We are really trying to develop the `ECU way' of doing things and it is a bit different for us than in years past."
The game was a tight-knit affair during the first seven minutes, as two free throws by Trojan Jasmine Whitby knotted the score at 10 with 13:15 showing on the clock. The ECU defense ignited from there, as the Pirates recorded eight steals in the matter of four minutes to end the half on a 54-10 run. The onslaught was capped off by a steal and layup by Elaine Morgan with four seconds left, leaving the score at 64-20 at the half.
Spivey and Clarke reached double figures at the break, putting in 18 and 12 points, respectively. Wilson also racked up a team-best three rebounds while Clarke was credited with four steals. East Carolina shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes, converting exactly half of its 40 field goal attempts. The Trojans were held to just 11 shots, making four of them to go 36.4 from the field.
Mount Olive cut into the deficit slightly out of the break, using a Whitby layup to make the score 73-33 with 17:36 left, but the Pirates picked up the tempo again, staking out to a 93-41 advantage with a 20-8 run that was capped off by a Kim Gay jumper at the 9:08 mark.
A three-point play by Wilson allowed ECU to hit the century mark with just under seven minutes on the clock as the score read 100-49. The Pirates played fast until the end, closing the game on a 12-11 run. Freshman Katie Paschal hit two free throws as part of her four-point effort to close out the scoring.
The Pirates open up regular season play this coming Friday, hosting American University. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The contest is the first of a doubleheader with the men's team as it also commences its season with a contest against Erskine.
