East Carolina University
(12) Tulsa
Pirates Down Tulsa In First Round, 71-62
March 09, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2011
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(5) East Carolina 71, (12) Tulsa 62 
EL PASO, Texas - Five players posted double-digit scoring totals and the Pirates shot 54.0 percent from the field as fifth-seeded East Carolina defeated No. 12 seed Tulsa, 71-62, in the opening round of the 2011 Buick Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship Wednesday evening at UTEP's Memorial Gym.
The Pirates led Tulsa in nearly every statistical category, including out-scoring the Golden Hurricane in the paint 40-24, holding a 38-32 advantage on the boards, and turning 14 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points. In addition, the Pirate reserves out-produced the Tulsa bench, 33-8.
With the win, East Carolina improves to 16-14 on the year and advances to take on No. 4 seed Tulane on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Tipoff for that ballgame is slated for 5 p.m. (MST). Tulsa, meanwhile, concluded its 2010-11 season at 5-20.
Kelly Smith came off the bench to post a team-best 13 points for the Pirates while reserve Crystal Wilson had 11 and starters Kim Gay, Chareya Smith and Ashley Clarke scored 10 points apiece. East Carolina hit 27-of-50 shots from the floor for the ballgame, including connecting at a 63.2 clip in the second half (12-of-19).
The two Smiths shared team-high rebounding honors with seven each and Clarke tallied a game-high five assists. Celeste Stewart took just two shots in a 25-minute effort as one of ECU's starting guards, but led the team with three steals while chipping in with three assists and a trio of rebounds.
The game began as a slugfest as East Carolina and Tulsa traded blows each time up and down the court. The Pirates scored the first four points of the contest on consecutive layups by Clarke and Chareya Smith, but Tulsa came right back with four straight points of its own. The trend continued over the first 10 minutes of the half, but with the score knotted at 19-all, Kelly Smith drained a 3-pointer with 8:57 left to go before the break to give the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish.
The ECU advantage swelled to as many as 13 in the opening stanza when Kelly Smith converted a layup to put the Pirates on top 39-26 with 1:56 left in the period. Tulsa cut the deficit to 11 on a Denise Lewis basket with 32 seconds left in the half, but a pair of Clarke free throws pushed the lead back to 13 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
The score remained a double-digit affair for most of the final 20 minutes and got to as many as 15 at 54-39 with 13:18 left to play in regulation. Tulsa cut the deficit down to eight on four different occasions with the last coming at 63-55 with 4:11 to go. The Pirates, however, responded with four straight points and nine of the game's next 11 points to push the lead to 14 before Tulsa's Taleya Mayberry hit a jumper and connected on a 3-pointer over the final 10 seconds to account for the final score.
Mayberry led all players with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting - including a 3-of-7 performance from beyond the 3-point arc - while hitting 3-of-4 free throws. She was one of three Golden Hurricane players to post double digits as Chanice Scott added 13 and Denise Lewis tallied 10. Lewis led Tulsa with six rebounds, Scott paced the squad with four assists, and Tatum Beer posted a game-high four steals.
