East Carolina University
Delaware State
East Carolina Downs Delaware State, 54-47
November 26, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2011
East Carolina 54, Delaware State 47 
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Post-Game Interviews
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Senior Chareya Smith netted 20 points to lead three East Carolina players in double figures Saturday as the Pirates recorded a 54-47 victory over Delaware State in the first contest of the 2011 ECU Thanksgiving Tournament.
East Carolina improves its record to 3-2 with the triumph while the Lady Hornets fall to 2-3. ECU remains undefeated at home early in the campaign at 3-0 and continues an impressive stretch of 36 wins in its last 45 home games.
In addition to Smith's offensive output, juniors Shala Hodges and Britny Edwards dropped in 11 and 10 apiece. Smith also paced the squad in the rebounding column by grabbing seven - including four on the offensive glass. Helping the offense flow was senior Bryelle Smith, who handed out four assists.
The Pirates shared the ball well, recording 14 assists on 19 made baskets as East Carolina shot 36 percent for the contest. DSU fired at a higher clip at 41 percent, but converted just 18 field goals on 44 attempts from the floor. ECU enjoyed a 35-31 advantage on the glass and picked up 17 offensive rebounds, five of which were posted by Edwards.
Defense was key asset in the win as the Pirates limited the Lady Hornets to 47 points while snatching 10 steals and forcing 21 turnovers, leading to 20 points off those miscues. Additionally, ECU took good care of the basketball and committed a season-low 11 turnovers.
Katie Paschal gave East Carolina a 12-6 lead about seven minutes into the game, which the Pirates would stretch to 10 at 16-6 on a jumper by Edwards with 11:38 showing on the clock. A layup by Uchechi Ahaiwe cut her team's deficit to four with just over eight minutes left in the half, but two free throws by Hodges afforded ECU its largest lead of the afternoon at 23-12 as time ran down under six minutes.
Tasia Bristow drained a three-point field goal to make it a six-point contest, 23-17, with 4:29 remaining and it would stay at that margin for the rest of the period as the Pirates took a 28-22 cushion into the break.
Chareya Smith posted nine of her points in the first 20 minutes while Paschal had three rebounds. The teams were virtualy even from the field at 39 percent each but East Carolina held a slight 17-16 advantage on the boards.
The Lady Hornets would tie the game at 33 in the first four minutes of the second interval then took their first lead of the contest when Alexis Thornton nailed a triple to make the score 36-34. The Pirates hunkered down defensively from there, going on a 13-3 run to assume an eight-point lead with 6:39 left in the contest.
A pair of free throws by Deanna Harmon kept DSU close as ECU clung to a 48-46 advantage with 4:11 on the clock, however, East Carolina's defense shone through once more, limiting the Lady Hornets to just one point down the stretch. The Pirates would score six of the game's final seven to clinch its third home victory of the season.
ECU returns to action tomorrow to close out the tournament, taking on Elon at 4:30 p.m. Delaware State will face Robert Morris at 2 to begin the afternoon.
