East Carolina University
UCF
UCF Outlasts East Carolina, 60-50
February 06, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. - The East Carolina women's basketball team continued its two-year long struggle on the road in Conference USA play, falling to UCF Saturday night at the UCF Arena. The Lady Pirates are now 17-6 overall and 6-4 in league action as they lost for the fourth time in their last five away games. Meanwhile the Knights improved to 6-12 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
ECU scored just four points, all by junior Kim Gay, in the first eight minutes as UCF staked out to a 13-4 advantage. The Lady Pirates continued to struggle from the field, but Kelly Smith put in her fourth point and kept East Carolina within 18-10 as the clock showed 6:55. The Knights would outscore the Lady Pirates 11-10 heading into the break, but Celeste Stewart hit a jumper with two seconds left that kept UCF from enjoying a double-digit lead.
The Knights dominated the glass in the first 20 minutes, picking up 11 offensive rebounds as part of a 27-board effort, while ECU corralled 17 total. Both teams struggled from the field as the Knights shot 37.5 percent and held the Lady Pirates to 32.1 efficiency. UCF also took advantage of the offensive glass, scoring 10 second-chance points as East Carolina struggled to box out.
Chelsie Wiley led the way for the Knights with 10 points while D'Nay Daniels pulled down eight rebounds. Kim Gay netted eight for the Lady Pirates and snatched three boards - both team highs.
ECU began to find its shooting touch early in the second half, scoring 10 points to cut its deficit to 36-30 at the 15:20 mark. The Lady Pirates eventually tied the score at 42, but UCF quickly went back ahead by four and held a 48-44 advantage with 6:46 left in the contest. They would not lose it the rest of the game, cruising to the 10-point win.
Gay finished the affair with 14 points and seven rebounds, leading East Carolina in both categories. Allison Spivey also handed out a squad-best five assists.
The Lady Pirates recovered from a poor shooting first half to hit 50 percent of their shots in the second and finish with a 40.4 percentage. The Knights ended up with a 37.3 mark. UCF also recorded 18 offensive rebounds to enjoy an ultimate 41-32 margin on the glass.
ECU now returns home for three-straight contests, beginning Thursday, Feb. 11 against UTEP. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m.
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