ECU Hosts Marshall For Senior Day
February 26, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2011
Gametracker | Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
East Carolina Women's Basketball Gameday Central
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET • Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011
Location: Minges Coliseum (8,000) • Greenville, N.C.
Series History: East Carolina leads, 8-6
Last Time Against UCF: W, 61-43 (2/3/11 at Huntington, W.Va.)
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina plays its second nationally-televised contest of the season Sunday as it wraps up its 2010-11 home schedule with a key battle against Marshall on CBS College Sports at 2 p.m. Jason Knapp will handle the play-by-play duties with Krista Blunk providing color analysis.
The Pirates look for the season series sweep over the Thundering Herd as they captured a 61-43 win earlier this season in Huntington. ECU captured it's sixth-straight home victory with a 65-55 trimph over Tulsa Thursday and has won 19 of its last 23 league contests at Minges Coliseum.
Today's contest marks the 15th in a series that began in 1980. The Pirates lead 8-6 and have won five of the last six meetings. ECU is 5-1 all-time against Marshall at Minges Coliseum.
It is senior day at East Carolina as forward Kim Gay and guards Allison Spivey and Kelly Smith will be honored prior to tipoff.
ABOUT US...
The Pirates are 13-14 overall entering the contest as well as 7-7 in C-USA action. In winning six of its last nine league games, ECU is entrenched in sixth-place in the standings, tied with UAB and SMU but holding the tiebreaker over both teams. Senior Allison Spivey led three Pirates in double figures against Tulsa with 15 points via a quintet of three-point field goals. Leading scorer Kim Gay, who dropped in 11 Thursday, has netted double figures 13-straight games. East Carolina is averaging 71.6 points per game while giving up 70.3. In league games, the Pirates rankin the top three in both field goal percentage (Third/.426) and field goal percentage defense (Second/.378). Free throw shooting has also been a bright spot in conference contests as ECU sits second with a percentage of .713.
ABOUT THEM...
Marshall is 8-19 overall and 4-10 in league play after a 72-54 home loss to No. 25 Houston Thursday. After losing nine of 10, including the 18-point loss at the hands of the Pirates, the Thundering Herd has rebounded to capture two of its last three decisions with wins against Tulsa and UAB. Tynikki Crook is the clear leader of the squad, posting team-high averages in points (16.5) and rebounds (9.2). Marshall is putting up 53.3 points per game while giving up 64.8. In terms of shooting, the Herd is at 37 percent from the field, 27 percent from beyond the arc and 61 percent at the free throw line. Marshall's rebounding margin in virtually even, as the Herd owns a slight +0.6 mark (36.6-36.0).
THE LAST MEETING (FEBRUARY 3, 2011)...
On an evening in which East Carolina was missing three of its upperclassmen, senior Allison Spivey became the school's all-time leading three-point field goal shooter as the Pirates downed Marshall 61-43 at the Cam Henderson Center. Spivey drained three triples in the second half to end up with four overall, pushing her career total to 180 and passing former teammate Jasmine Young (177) for the program record. She finished the contest with 18 points to lead four Pirates in double figures. Shala Hodges netted 11 while Jean Best and Celeste Stewart contributed 10.
CONFERENCE USA: THE 10TH SEASON...
East Carolina is in its 10th year as a basketball member of C-USA. Starting in 2001, the Pirates became eligible to compete for the league title after contributing 17 years as a constituent of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Four years ago, ECU finished third in the regular season standings, its highest ranking since joining the conference. The Pirates also notched their first league tournament title with 79-70 triumph over Rice in the 2007 championship game at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
A NEW LOW...
Marshall's 43 points are the least ECU has ever allowed in a Conference USA road contest. The previous mark was 52 by Southern Miss when the Pirates went down to Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg and won a 68-52 decision on Feb. 22, 2007.
ON THEIR WAY TO SEE THE PIRATES PLAY...
East Carolina is on track to lead Conference USA in attendance for the third-straight season, having drawn an average of 1,796 fans to Minges Coliseum. In the latest release of the national attendance figures, the Pirates check in at 75th, ahead of such teams as Alabama, UCLA, Colorado, Florida, California, Illinois, Missouri and Syracuse.
BIG CROWDS LEAD TO MINGES SUCCESS...
Since the start of the 2008-09 season, no one has been better than East Carolina at home in conference play. Along with SMU, the Pirates have racked up an 19-4 ledger.
FREE THROWS DO INDEED WIN BALLGAMES...
In 12 of the last 18 games, ECU has hit over 70 percent of its free throw attempts. The Pirates put up a season and C-USA-best 94-percent performance at Tulane, knocking down 16 of 17 from the charity stripe. In C-USA games, East Carolina is second in the league with a 71-percent mark, with Houston in the lead at 73 percent.
LIVING IN THE SIXTIES...
Before scoring just 52 points in the loss at UCF Sunday, the Pirates had reached the 60-point plateau in 25-straight contests. The last time East Carolina did not reach 60 points prior to the game in Orlando was an 87-52 loss at Maryland in the second round of the 2010 WNIT. In comparison, the 2009-10 squad failed to score at least 60 in a contest nine times.
SUCCESS CLOSER TO HOME...
Since Conference USA split into East and West divisions before the 2005-06 campaign, ECU has fared much better against its eastern neighbors. In five seasons, the Pirates have recorded a 46-30 (.605) mark against the eastern members while producing a 19-32 (.373) ledger vs. the western side.
ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE...
The Pirates have taken on some of the nation's best this season. According to realtimerpi.com, ECU's slate is ranked as the 68th-toughest in the country. Among the teams the Pirates have faced are UCLA (7), Maryland (12), Houston (31), Charlotte (73), UCF (75), UNC Wilmington (78), VCU (82), Tulane (83), Hampton (88) and Memphis (93).
SIGNED AND SEALED...
The Pirates have signed two top 65 position recruits in Courtney Melvin and Ja'Nesha Ebron as well as the No. 102 ranked forward from Columbus, Ohio, Tatiana Chapple. Melvin was ranked the No. 31 post player in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz while Ebron was tabbed No. 61 among guards by the same website. Both signees have North Carolina state championship game experience, as Melvin has led East Bladen High School to the last two title games (1A and 2A) and Ebron helped South Central to a 3A championship appearance. Current assistant coach Ann Hancock held the scoring record at East Bladen with 2,276 but Melvin broke it in the first half of a recent win - scoring the needed layup at the halftime buzzer.
SLOW STARTERS...
If the stats are any indication thus far, the Pirates can certainly call themselves a "second half" team. ECU has scored 1,032 points in the second 20 minutes as opposed to 897 in the first stanza.
CATCH US IF YOU CAN...
In 13 of their 14 losses, the Pirates have trailed at the half. Conversely, they have won 12 games when leading at the break and one when the score was tied.
YOU'LL GET TO PLAY...
It seems like the Pirate bench gets deeper with each passing season and is an extension of the starting five. There is some truth to that statement, as East Carolina's bench has outscored its opponents' benches in 71 of the last 91 games and 20 of 27 this year.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THAT WITH THE WHOLE TEAM?...
The Pirates recorded 28 assists on 36 made field goals against Massachusetts. It was just seven shy of the school record and the most since ECU tallied the same number against Houston-Baptist last season. Additionally, the Pirates turned the ball over just nine times for a stellar assist/turnover ratio of 3.1. The Pirates also shared the ball well against UCF, registering 20 assists on 23 baskets, vs. SMU with 27 helpers on 32 buckets and in the game with Tulsa (20 assists/24 field goals).
I'LL TAKE THREE...
In hitting 12 three-point field goals against Virginia Union, the Pirates established a new program single-game record. However, just six days later, ECU did one better with 13 vs. Massachusetts then did it again against Florida A&M in Iowa and at home against Southern Miss. With four triples at Marshall senior Allison Spivey took over sole possession of first-place on the program ledger.
THE GOOD KIND OF OFFENSIVE...
ECU owns the top two offensive outputs among C-USA teams this season with 102 points against Virginia Union and 97 vs. Massachusetts. The 61-point margin of victory against the Panthers was the third-largest in program history and 12th-widest in the league annals. The Pirates also boast one of the two highest single-game assist totals - 28 against the Minutewomen. Additionally, the 91 points scored against Southern Miss were the most by a C-USA team in a conference game this season.
GETTING ON THE GLASS...
In the last 12 games, ECU has out-rebounded its opponent by an average of 2.4 (485-456). In the three prior contests, opponents enjoyed a +9.7 margin - including five more offensive boards.
PIRATES ROLL DEEP...
In 24 of the last 27 games, at least one player off the bench has scored in double figures. In fact, in the contests against UNC Wilmington, Virginia Union, Prarie View A&M, Memphis and Rice, two players that did not start netted at least 10 points.
WIRE TO WIRE...
In four of the Pirates' 10 wins this season, they have led the entire game. Virginia Union, Massachusetts, Prairie View and UAB were the teams that could not manage a lead against ECU.
UP NEXT FOR THE PIRATES...
ECU wraps up the regular season with a contest at UAB. Tipoff from Bartow Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The Pirates defeated the Blazers 71-64 earlier this season at Minges Coliseum and have won seven of the last nine meetings with UAB.
