East Carolina Closes Homestand Against VCU
December 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2011
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| East Carolina vs. VCU Dec. 7, 2011 | 7 p.m. ET Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum) TV: None |
 Watch |  Gametracker |  Game Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina shoots for its fifth win in six games Wednesday, closing out a four-game homestand against VCU. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m.
Fans who donate a canned food item at the gate will receive free admission. The contest also serves as Military Appreciation Night as those showing a military ID will be admitted free of charge and receive a $2.00 box of popcorn.
The Pirates can cement a new program record for consecutive home victories (13) as they have put together 12 in a row heading into the contest. ECU downed Monmouth 75-52 in its most recent outing with sophomore Kristine Mial posting a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while adding five steals and four blocks. Chareya Smith and Shala Hodges also netted double figures offensively with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Pirates' solid defensive play resulted in 17 steals, eight blocks and 28 Hawk turnovers.
Nine of the 10 players who experienced action scored while all 10 grabbed at least one rebound. Additionally, five Pirates contributed multiple assists and four grabbed more than one steal.
From the field, East Carolina used a 54-percent shooting performance in the second half to finish at 43 percent for the contest - knocking down 25 of its 58 attempts. Meanwhile, the Hawks (2-4) connected on just 17 of their 56 tries to fire at a 30-percent clip. The Pirates enjoyed a 43-33 advantage in the rebounding column, picking up 15 offensive boards. ECU also turned in its highest percentage of the season from beyond the arc, nailing seven treys on 16 attempts (.438).
The Rams enter the contest at 4-3 overall and opened Colonial Athletic Association play with a 67-60 win over Northeastern in their most recent outing.
Senior guard Andrea Barbour scored a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, while classmate Courtney Hurt, one of the nation's top scorers at 22.6 per contest, registered her third straight double-double with 19 points and 11 boards. VCU finished with 12 steals and forced a season-high 25 turnovers from the Huskies.
The Series: VCU
Today's meeting marks the 24th between the Pirates and Rams. ECU has won two-straight in the series as well as eight of the last 11 to build a 13-10 advantage. The Pirates have also captured four of the last five played at Minges Coliseum.
ECU Against the Colonial Athletic Association
East Carolina holds an all-time mark of 137-134 (.506) against the current members of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Pirates have squared off against Drexel (2-0), George Mason (24-21), Georgia State (1-0), Hofstra (1-0), James Madison (26-29), Northeastern (1-0), Old Dominion (8-42), Towson (1-0), VCU (13-10), William and Mary (31-11) and UNCW (29-21). The Pirates will face off against Delaware later this season.
Nationally Ranked
With the second release of the national statisitics rankings, East Carolina finds itself pretty high on the list in a few categories. The Pirates are first in steals per game, fourth in scoring defense, 11th in turnover margin and 17th in scoring margin. Additionally, senior Bryelle Smith sits 42nd in assist to turnover ratio.
(No) Nonsense November
In the last four seasons, the Pirates have fared well in the month of November, racking up an 18-7 ledger which includes a 5-2 mark this season and a 6-0 record in 2009-10.
Home is Where the Wins Are
With a victory against VCU Wednesday, ECU will cement the longest home winning streak in program history at 13. The Pirates last won 12-straight contests at Minges Coliseum during the 2009-10 campaign, beginning with the first game of the season and ending with a close five-point loss to eventual C-USA champion Tulane.
Tenacious 'D'
ECU has held each of its seven opponents under 65 points to begin the season for the first time since the 1973-74 campaign. The Pirates are also averaging 29.7 turnovers forced per contest.
Shala's Scoring Surge
After averaging just 4.5 points per game last season, junior Shala Hodges is poised to have a breakout year offensively. She is putting in a team-best 13.3 points per contest so far and netted a career-high 28 points against Virginia Intermont. Hodges also leads the team at the foul line, converting 26 of her 34 attempts.
Double Trouble - Freshman Style
With her double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) against St. Andrew's, freshman forward Tatiana Chapple is the first ECU player to record a double-double in her rookie season since Jean Best scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds versus UCF on Feb. 15, 2009.
Minges Success
Since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, no one has been better than East Carolina at home in Conference USA play. The Pirates have racked up a 20-4 ledger while Houston, UCF and SMU sit just behind at 19-5.
On Their Way to See the Pirates Play
It could be said that one reason for East Carolina's sparkling home record was the fan support given by the Greenville and surrounding communities. The Pirates welcomed 26,213 fans to Minges Coliseum last season, an average of 1,872 per contest. That figure led Conference USA for the third-straight year.
The Starting 10
It seems like the Pirate bench gets deeper with each passing season and is an extension of the starting five. East Carolina's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in 79 of the last 100 games.
When Making 30...
East Carolina converted 47 field goals against St. Andrew's, marking the 29th time since the start of the 2006-07 campaign that the Pirates have made 30 or more baskets in a single game.
