East Carolina University
Memphis
Pirate Winning Streak Snapped At Memphis
February 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2011
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis rode a hot shooting display in the first half and received 32 points from junior transfer player Brittany Carter (University of Georgia), recording an 83-70 Conference USA victory Sunday at FedExForum. The Tigers improve to 17-6 overall and 6-3 in league play while the Pirates had a three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 10-12 and 4-5.
Celeste Stewart netted a career-high 13 points in the setback while senior Allison Spivey netted 14 points and knocked down three more three-point field goals to push her career total to 183. Chareya Smith also scored in double figures off the bench with 12 and matched teammate Crystal Wilson with seven rebounds. East Carolina now has a streak of 21-straight games in which a player off the bench has netted double figures.
ECU was playing without leading scorer Kim Gay for the second-straight contest as she continues to nurse a knee injury. Senior Kelly Smith also missed her third consecutive game due to medical reasons.
The Pirates were 24 of 60 from the field, ending the contest with a 42-percent shooting mark but could not match the Tigers' 51-percent performance. Memphis also won the battle on the glass by one, 34-33. Both teams ended up with 11 offensive rebounds.
Carter scored nine of Memphis' first 12 points in the first four minutes, but ECU kept close and trailed by two at the first media timeout (15:20). Over the next six minutes, the Tigers went on a 15-5 run to push out to a 27-17 advantage as the clock ticked under 10 minutes. Memphis would stretch the lead to 17 at the 4:46 mark on two Carter free throws and it would be Carter who closed out the period's scoring with a three at the buzzer - putting the Tigers ahead 52-36.
Carter scored 20 points in the first 20 minutes while Celeste Stewart set her career high with 11. Chareya Smith pulled down a team-high four rebounds to complement four assists from Ashley Clarke.
Memphis hit 18 of its 31 shots in the half to produce a 58-percent mark from the field while the Pirates knocked down 11 of 30 for 37 percent. East Carolina held the advantage on the glass with 20 rebounds (eight offensive) as compared to 16 for the Tigers.
Memphis extended the advantage to over 20 when Carter dropped in a layup to make the score 62-40, however, the Pirates went on a 13-5 run to cut the deficit down to 14 at 67-53 as the clock showed 7:54.
ECU pulled within 12 on a Spivey triple, but Nicole Dickson answered with two from beyond the arc to quell the rally and essentially seal the victory.
The Pirates return home to Minges Coliseum for their next contest as they host Southern Miss Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
