Pirates Travel To Charlotte Sunday
December 04, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2010
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East Carolina Women's Basketball Gameday Central
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team ends a quick two-game road swing Sunday, facing off against Charlotte at Halton Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
ECU defeated VCU in its last outing, taking a 77-72 decision at Verizon Wireless Arena for its second-straight win over the Rams.
Sophomore Ariana Jackson posted a career-best 21 points to lead four Pirate players in double figures. Ashley Clarke added 12 to complement 11 and 10-point performances by Kim Gay and Allison Spivey, respectively. Crystal Wilson pulled down a team-best eight rebounds as well as distributed a squad-high four assists. Additionally, Gay pocketed a personal-best four steals.
East Carolina shot the ball at a 47.2-percent clip, hitting 25 of their 53 attempts from the field. ECU also drained seven three-pointers in the contest as Spivey drew within two triples of sole possession of third-place on the program career chart. She now has 158. The Pirates out-rebounded the Rams by seven, 39-32, and were able to overcome a large disparity in fouls as the home team was whistled for just 21 as compared to 32 for East Carolina.
The 49ers are 5-2 thus far this season, with their two losses against Florida in Gainesville and No. 5 Duke at home.
Shannon McCallum, who led Charlotte with 15 points in the 49ers' win at UNC Wilmington, paces the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game. McCallum is second on the team in rebounding at 5.6 boards per game. Kendria Holmes, who has recorded five double-figure scoring games this season, is second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. Epiphany Woodson, who scored 10 points against UNC Wilmington, rounds out the 49ers' double-figure scorers at 10 points per game.
Holmes and Woodson are tied for the team-lead in assists with 27. Jennifer Hailey, who has recorded three double-figure rebounds games this season, leads the team in rebounding at 8.3 boards per game. She is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game. Gabby Tyler, who averages 6.6 points per game, tops the team in blocked shots with 12. Paige McCallum, who averages 6.5 points per game, leads the team in steals with 19.
The Pirates downed the 49ers 84-61 last season at Minges Coliseum in the first contest for both teams.
THE SERIES: CHARLOTTE
East Carolina and Charlotte meet today for the 31st time in a series that dates back to 1983 and includes nine contests that occurred when the 49ers were members of Conference USA. Charlotte holds a commanding 22-8 lead and has won seven of the last nine contests, including the series' only neutral site matchup in the first round of the 2004 C-USA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
EAST CAROLINA AGAINST THE ATLANTIC 10
The Pirates hold an all-time mark of 34-53 (.391) against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. ECU has faced Charlotte (8-22), Dayton (2-0), Duquesne (1-1), George Washington (1-2), La Salle (0-1), Massachusetts (3-0), Rhode Island (1-0), Richmond (17-24) and Saint Louis (1-3) while the Pirates have never seen Fordham, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, Temple or Xavier on the opposite bench. East Carolina is familiar with the 49ers and the Billikens, as the squads squared off as members of C-USA from 2002-05.
PIRATES AGAINST THEIR FELLOW TAR HEELS
ECU owns a 209-144 (.592) 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 (4-1), 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 (29-20), North Carolina A&T (10-5), NC Central (5-0), N.C. State (6-32), Wake Forest (6-3) and Western Carolina (9-9).
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 57 of the last 71 games and six of seven this season.
A KIND ROAD SO FAR
With wins over Western Carolina and VCU, ECU has started 2-0 away from home for the first time since the 1998-99 season when the Pirates captured victories at Campbell and Charlotte.
AMONG THE NATIONAL ELITE
The first set of national statistics came out this week and ECU is among the top 60 in seven different categories. The Pirates are ninth in steals per game, 13th in turnover margin, 26th in scoring offense, 35th in field goal percentage, 44th in assists per game, 55th in assist/turnover ratio and 57th in three-point field goal defense. Individually, Ashley Clarke ranks fourth in steals per game. East Carolina is the only C-USA team in the top 10 of any category.
TOUGH STRETCH
Starting with Thursday's win at VCU, East Carolina is in the midst of a four-game stretch against teams that participated in the postseason last year. The Rams and Charlotte were WNIT qualifiers while Hampton and No. 13 UCLA earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.
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' 195 field goals this season, having made 31 while assisting on 29. That is a percentage of 25.6.
UP NEXT FOR THE PIRATES
ECU plays its final nonconference home contest Wednesday, Dec. 8, taking on defending MEAC champion Hampton. The Pirates picked up a 65-61 road win over the Lady Pirates last season and have won all five meetings between the schools.
