ECU Heads To Hawai'i For Two Games
December 15, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2010
Live Stats | Game Notes in PDF format 
ECU Women's Basketball Gameday Central
HILO, Hawai'i - East Carolina ends a 12-day break Monday, Dec. 20, when it takes on No. 9 UCLA in the second contest of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout at the Hilo Civic Center. The game is scheduled for 12 a.m. ET (7 HST). ECU is also slated to play Hawai'i Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
The Pirates will face their second nationally-ranked opponent of the season after dropping a 76-60 decision to then No. 23 Maryland in the final game of the Ninth-Annual Pirate Invitational. The meetings with the Bruins and Rainbow Wahine serve as the first in program history against both institutions.
ECU has been idle since Dec. 8 when it fell to Hampton 69-63 at Minges Coliseum. In that contest. sophomore Ariana Jackson netted 16 points for her third double-digit scoring effort of the season while senior Kim Gay put in 10. Junior Crystal Wilson just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and corralling a team-best eight rebounds.
ECU converted just 20 of its 65 field goals in the contest to shoot 30 percent while making only two of its 19 attempts from beyond the arc. Hampton helped itself from the free throw line, draining 27-of-33. The Pirates held a 42-40 advantage over the visitors on the glass, producing 21 offensive rebounds which equated into 23 second-chance points. East Carolina also ended up with 15 steals while forcing 25 Hampton turnovers.
In the latest national statistical rankings, ECU finds itself ranked 12th in both steals per game and turnover margin while also sitting at 34th in scoring offense and 82nd in field goal percentage. Individually, junior Ashley Clarke checks in at eighth in steals per game with an average of 3.6.
In terms of Conference USA, the Pirates hold the top averages in steals per game and turnover margin. Those marks are complemented by league second-best averages in scoring offense and field goal percentage. Sophomore Shala Hodges owns the second-best three-point percentage in the league at .476 while Clarke's aforementioned steal average is also good for second.
East Carolina has tested itself early in the season, as four of its five losses have occurred against teams in the top 127 of the national RPI as compiled by Warren Nolan. Those teams include Maryland (24), Charlotte (35), UNC Wilmington (84) and Hampton (127). Hampton shot up in the rankings last week after knocking off the University of Florida.
After it's Hawai'ian excursion, ECU will break for the Christmas Holiday before returning to the court Dec. 29-30 for the Iowa State Cyclone Challenge at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Pirates wrap up their non-conference schedule there with matchups against Prarie View A&M and Florida A&M.
ABOUT THE BRUINS...
No. 9 UCLA (8-0) is undefeated thus far this season, having scored victories over San Diego State, Notred Dame and Temple. The Bruins come at their opponents with a balanced attack as four players are averaging double figures in points. Jasmine Dixon and Darxia Morris share the team lead with 11.8 points per game while Dixon is the top rebounder on the squad, grabbing 6.3 boards per contest. UCLA also prides itself on defense as the Bruins have pocketed 145 steals. In terms of shooting, the Bruins are 44th in the nation at .439 from the field, .591 from the free throw line and .293 beyond the arc. On the glass, UCLA is outrebounding opponents by an average of 8.1 boards per game.
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WAHINE...
Hawai'i enters the event with a 4-4 record and has lost three-straight decisions to North Carolina, Portland State and Portland. The Rainbow Wahine played its first six contests at home before traveling to Oregon for its last two. Three Hawai'i players average double figures in points through eight games, led by Kamilah Jackson with 12.4 points per game to go along with 10.9 rebounds per contest. The Rainbow Wahine are on the negative side in terms of scoring margin, but just slightly as they check in at -1.4. However, Hawai'i is outrebounding its opponents by +1.6. From the field, the Rainbow Wahine are .395 and have a respectable .322 mark from beyond the arc. Additionally, Hawai'i has converted 98 of 164 attempts from the charity striple (.598)
A LOOK AT ECU IN REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENT PLAY...
Since joining Conference USA, East Carolina holds a record of 28-20 in regular-season tournament play. The Pirates have won seven titles in that timespan, including three in the last two-plus seasons alone. ECU went to the Bahamas in 2008 and won the Sunsplash Shootout championship with victories over Mercer and Florida Atlantic before heading to South Florida last season and knocking off Houston-Baptist and the host South Florida Bulls to claim the USF Shootout title. This season, ECU is 1-1 with a win over Massachusetts and a loss to No. 23 Maryland in Greenville.
ALL IT TAKES IS 30...
East Carolina converted 36 field goals against Massachusetts, marking the 25th time since the start of the 2006-07 campaign that the Pirates have accomplished the feat. Four of the last seven have been in overtime.
YOU'LL GET TO PLAY...
It seems like the Pirate bench gets deeper with each passing season and is an extension of the starting five. There is some truth to that statement, as East Carolina's bench has outscored its opponents' benches in 58 of the last 73 games and seven of nine this year.
SHARING IS CARING...
The Pirates recorded 28 assists on 36 made field goals against Massachusetts. It was just seven shy of the school record and the most since ECU tallied the same number against Houston-Baptist last season. Additionally, the Pirates turned the ball over just nine times for a stellar assist/turnover ratio of 3.1. The nine miscues were the fewest since Nov. 25, 2005 when East Carolina also recorded nine in a 71-68 overtime victory over Ohio University.
THREE ME...
In hitting 12 three-point field goals against Virginia Union, the Pirates established a new program single-game record. However, just six days later, ECU did one better with 13 vs. Massachusetts. With four triples against the Minutewomen, senior Allison Spivey took over fourth on the program career chart but is now one away from third-place.
TOUGH STRETCH...
East Carolina is in the midst of a four-game stretch against teams that participated in the postseason last year. VCU and Charlotte were WNIT qualifiers while Hampton and UCLA earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.
A KIND ROAD TO START...
With wins over Western Carolina and VCU, ECU started 2-0 away from home for the first time since the 1998-99 season when the Pirates captured victories at Campbell and Charlotte.
THE GOOD KIND OF OFFENSIVE...
ECU owns the top two offensive outputs among C-USA teams this season with 102 points against Virginia Union and 97 vs. Massachusetts. The Pirates also boast the two highest single-game assist totals - 28 against the Minutewomen and 25 vs. the Panthers.
MAKING IT RUN...
Junior Ashley Clarke is responsible for over one-fourth of the Pirates' 236 field goals this season, having made 35 while assisting on 32. That is a 28-percent mark.
THE PATH TO 600...
East Carolina is just nine wins away from recording its 600th victory in program history.
