Women's Hoops Hosts Hampton Wednesday
December 07, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2010
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East Carolina Women's Basketball Gameday Central
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After two games away from home, East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum Wednesday evening, hosting defending MEAC champion Hampton at 7 p.m.
The Pirates (4-4) had a modest two-game winning streak snapped at Charlotte Sunday as the 49ers captured a 79-61 decision at Halton Arena.
Sophomore Shala Hodges led three ECU players in double figures with 11 points while Ashley Clarke and Allison Spivey chipped in 10 each. Additionally, Jean Best pulled down a team-best six rebounds and Elaine Morgan had two of the Pirates' nine steals.
Charlotte shot 50 percent in the contest, hitting 29 shots, as compared to a 30.9-percent mark for ECU. The 49ers also dominated the glass, out-rebouding the Pirates 59-35, but comitted 24 turnovers as compared to 16 for East Carolina.
The Pirates are flawless against Hampton all-time, having emerged victorious in all five meetings. ECU won a close contest at the HU Convocation Center last season, knocking off the home team 65-61. East Carolina is 3-0 in contests against the Lady Pirates at Minges Coliseum.
Hampton (3-4), in its second season under head coach David Six, won its second straight game on Saturday by beating Howard 68-52 at the HU Convocation Center. Junior guard Jericka Jenkins, experiencing her first action since Nov. 15 at South Dakota State, led the Lady Pirates with 17 points - all in the second half - and six assists. Senior forward Quanneisha Perry added 15 points, while junior guard Choicetta McMillian added 13.
This season, Hampton is 2-2 in away contests having defeated CAA preseason favorite James Madison 69-64 in the first round of the Preseason WNIT before falling 76-64 at South Dakota State and 64-57 at Charlotte. The Lady Pirates also defeated Radford 52-51 on the road.
EAST CAROLINA AGAINST THE MEAC
East Carolina holds an all-time mark of 34-10 (.773) against the current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Pirates have squared off against Bethune Cookman (2-0), Coppin State (3-1), Delaware State (4-0), Florida A&M (1-0), Hampton (5-0), Howard (5-1), Maryland Eastern Shore (1-0), North Carolina A&T (10-5) and South Carolina State (3-3).
PIRATES AGAINST THE COMMONWEALTH STATE
The Pirates own an all-time mark of 140-146 (.490) against schools in the state of Virginia. ECU has tangled with George Mason (24-21), Hampton (5-0), James Madison (26-29), Longwood (7-2), Norfolk State (1-1), Old Dominion (8-42), Radford (2-1), Richmond (17-24), Virginia (2-1), Virginia Commonwealth (13-10), Virginia State (1-0), Virginia Tech (2-4), Virginia Union (1-0) and William and Mary (31-11).
NOT IN MINGES
ECU protected its home court last season, racking up a 12-2 record at Minges Coliseum for the second consecutive year. That mark matched the second-most single-season wins in school history and was the most since 2000-01. The Pirates are 26-7 at home the last three campaigns and have racked up a Conference USA ledger of 13-3. East Carolina also set a new record of consecutive wins to start a home season last year with 12, capped off by a 74-64 victory over UTEP.
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 72 games and six of eight 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.
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...AGAIN AND AGAIN
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.
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 nearly one-third of the Pirates' 216 field goals this season, having made 34 while assisting on 31. That is a 30-percent mark.
UP NEXT FOR THE PIRATES
ECU makes its longest trip of the season, traveling to Hawai'i for the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Classic Dec. 20-21. The Pirates will face nationally-ranked UCLA first before taking on the Hawai'i the next day. The two contests mark the first meetings with the Bruins and Rainbow Wahine.
