East Carolina University
UCF
Pirates Stopped At UCF, 69-52
February 20, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. - The UCF Arena continued to prove a tough place to win for East Carolina as it lost 69-52 to the Knights Sunday. The Pirates fell to 12-14 overall and 6-7 in Conference USA play , losing their third-straight road game, while UCF improved to 16-10 and 9-4 in winning its fifth-straight contest overall.
Kim Gay scored in double figures for the 12th-straight time, netting 11 while Ashley Clarke added 10. Chareya Smith was the top rebounder for ECU, grabbing six boards. Additionally Allison Spivey handed out a team-high five assists.
The Pirates ended up with the slight edge from the floor, shooting 33 percent while holding the Knights to a 31-percent showing. UCF dominated the glass, corralling 56 rebounds of which 28 were offensive. The Knights also enjoyed 9-7 and 13-9 advantage in steals and assists, respectively. Additionally, East Carolina was held to a season low in points scored and failed to reach 60 for the first time this campaign.
UCF hit its first four shots while holding ECU scoreless to take a 10-0 lead at the 17:04 mark. Shala Hodges knocked down a three for the Pirates' first points, but the Knights would lead 14-3 at the first official timeout.
After the advantage grew to 20-5, East Carolina netted four-straight to pull within 11 with 11:02 remaining in the period. The Pirates eventually whittled down the deficit to seven when Jean Best drained two free throws to make it 27-20. However, UCF pushed its lead back to 10 when Genevia Carter hit a three from the top of the key.
ECU was able to get stops for most of the second 10 minutes of the first half, but could not convert on the other end as the Knights sat comfortably in front 31-19 at the break.
Rebounding was the story of the first 20 minutes as UCF grabbed 19 offensive boards as part of a 34-13 advantage. The Pirates were able to keep in the contest however, due to 28-percent shooting by the home team. East Carolina did not shoot much better, draining 30 percent of their attempts from the field. It was a sloppy period, as the teams combined for 21 turnovers.
Celeste Stewart and Gay both netted four points in the half while Ashley Clarke pulled down a team-high three rebounds to go along with two steals.
The Pirates came out in the second half hot, cutting their deficit to 33-27 when Gay nailed a trey at the 16:30 mark. However, Jelisa Caldwell answered with five-straight points to make it a double-digit margin again. Aisha Kelly then gave UCF its largest lead of the game with a three as the score stood at 46-29 with 13 minutes left.
The advantage grew to over 20 when Asia Patrick hit a free throw to make the score 61-40 with 6:08 left on the clock. East Carolina could not rally from there, as Elaine Morgan dropped in a layup with two ticks remaining to make it the 17-point final margin.
ECU will play two of its final three contests at Minges Coliseum, beginning Thursday against Tulsa. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
