East Carolina University
Tulane
Tulane Turns Back Lady Pirates, 56-51
February 13, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2010
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team held Tulane to 23-percent shooting Saturday, but committed 31 turnovers in a 56-51 loss at Minges Coliseum. The Lady Pirates (18-7, 7-5) lost at home for the first time this season and had a 12-game Minges winning streak snapped in the process. The Green Wave solidified their hold on first-place as they are now 19-5 overall and 8-3 in league play. The contest was held in front of 3,157 fans, the sixth-largest crowd in program history.
"Tulane is a great defensive team and really took us out of our offense," head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener remarked. "We competed in the second half but 31 turnovers will not win you ballgames. I knew we would lose at Minges at some point but it was dissapointing the way it happened today."
East Carolina missed its first seven shots as Tulane jumped out to a 9-1 advantage. The Green Wave then went further ahead, using a 14-9 run to assume a 23-10 lead. However, Ashley Clarke grabbed two defensive rebounds and turned them into four points as the Lady Pirates cut the deficit to seven. It would be as close as the home team would get the rest of the half, as Tulane took a 29-18 advantage into the locker room.
Both teams struggled to shoot the ball, as they combined to go 14-for-55 from the field. The Green Wave asserted itself on the glass, picking up nine offensive rebounds as part of a 24-19 margin. East Carolina also turned the ball over 16 times as Tulane scored 12 points off those many miscues.
Clarke scored 12 of the Lady Pirates' 18 points in the period while she and Kim Gay both grabbed five rebounds. Clarke also had ECU's lone assist.
As in Thursday's contest against UTEP, the Lady Pirates rallied, this time tying the score at 32 as they hit their five of their first eight shots which included two triples from Allison Spivey. East Carolina stayed close, sitting in a deadlock at 44 as the clock ticked towards the 4:00 minute mark. However, Tiffany Aidoo nailed a key three-pointer which sparked a 12-7 game-ending run for the Green Wave.
Clarke nearly recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. Spivey had a strong second half, scoring all 14 of her points in the period and was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc as well as leading the team with a career-high nine rebounds. Additionally, Jean Best netted 10 points for the second-straight contest.
The Lady Pirates held Tulane to just 23-percent shooting, but committed a season-high 31 turnovers which the Green Wave turned into 22 points. ECU made more field goals (17-14), but Tulane took 13 more shots due in part to 13 offensive rebounds.
East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum one last time in 2009-10, facing Tulsa on Sunday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
