Pirates Clash With C-USA Preseason Favorite Memphis Sunday
January 13, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2012
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| East Carolina at Memphis Jan. 15, 2012 | 2 p.m. ET Memphis, Tenn. (Elma Roane Fieldhouse) TV: None |
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a week away from the hardwood, East Carolina jumps back into its league schedule Sunday with a matchup at Conference USA preseason favorite Memphis. Tipoff between the Pirates and Tigers is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
For the first time since the 2008-09 campaign, the teams will square off in Memphis' on-campus facility - having played the previous two contests in the Bluff City at the FedExForum.
ECU looks to snap a skid which reached six games last Sunday with a 44-39 setback to UAB at Minges Coliseum. The Pirates dressed just seven players for the tilt as senior Chareya Smith missed the contest with concussion symptoms and freshman Dana Jones sat out with a foot injury.
East Carolina, playing at home for the first time since Dec. 7, limited the Blazers to just 18-percent shooting and nine field goals - including three in the second half - but shot only 28 percent themselves (16-for-58). ECU also ended up with a 44-43 advantage on the glass with each squad pulling down 16 offensive rebounds.
UAB won the game at the foul line, where it was awarded 26 free throw attempts as compared to just five for ECU. The Blazers made good on the tries, knocking down 21 to account for nearly half of their points. The visitors also entered the contest shooting at 30 percent from beyond the three-point line, but made just five of 24 while the Pirates hit three of 17 from long distance. Collectively, the squads combined for 37 turnovers which resulted in 30 points off those miscues.
Junior Britny Edwards picked up a game-best 12 rebounds and added a squad-high nine points, also matching Bryelle Smith with three steals. Celeste Stewart handed out five of ECU's 11 assists.
The Tigers enter the league showdown off of a 66-60 loss at UTEP last Sunday at the Don Haskins Center. Memphis held a 19-point halftime lead, but could not hold it as the Miners out-scored the Tigers 44-19 in the second stanza.
Memphis was led by senior Jasmine Lee's 16 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Junior Nicole Dickson added 15 points, all in the first half, and a team-high nine rebounds, while sophomore Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir added 10 points - including a triple late in the second half that pulled the Tigers to within three points of the home team.
THE SERIES: MEMPHIS
East Carolina and Memphis meet for the 19th time in a series that began in 2002 . ECU owns a 10-8 lead overall and has won three of the last five matchups but dropped an 83-70 decision last season in the Bluff City.
A TOUGH ROAD TO BEGIN
The Conference USA scheduled makers did ECU no favors when making this season's league slate. The Pirates played defending conference champion UCF and 2011 WBI champion UAB to start and will face preseason C-USA favorite Memphis and current 13-2 UTEP in their next two league bouts.
FINISH THE JOB
East Carolina has had the lead or been tied at halftime in 10 of its 16 contests this season. However, the Pirates have been able to win just five of those games.
MIXING IT UP
Due to injury and various other reasons, head coach Heather Macy has had to submit three different starting lineups in the last four games, including the first two conference contests.
STAY IN THE GAME
Junior Britny Edwards played 39 minutes in Sunday's contest against UAB. The last time a Pirate recorded that many minutes played in a non-overtime affair was when Allison Spivey stayed in for all 40 at Southern Miss on Feb. 4, 2010.
GUARDS AND REBOUNDS
Senior guard Bryelle Smith grabbed 10 rebounds in the C-USA opener at UCF, becoming the first backcourt player to reach double figures on the glass since Ashley Clarke corralled 12 at Houston on Feb. 13, 2011.
OUTWORKING THE NATIONALLY RANKED
The Pirates have faced nationally-ranked squads in North Carolina and Delaware the last few weeks. ECU was able to out-score the Tar Heels and Blue Hens for a half in each contest. East Carolina built a 35-32 halftime cushion against North Carolina before out-scoring Delaware 30-25 in the second half of the squads' battle in College Park, Md.
PLAYING NO. 1
Delaware is firmly entrenched in the top 20 in the two national polls, but the first NCAA RPI report had the Blue Hen's as the No. 1 team in the nation - a squad which East Carolina outscored 30-25 in the second half of their tilt at the Terrapin Classic at the University of Maryland.
IT'S JUST TWO GAMES
After dropping its first two C-USA games last season, East Carolina rebounded to finish with a 9-7 league mark and finish in a tie for fourth in the league standings.
WHERE ARE THE POINTS?
To say that the Pirates' 44-39 setback to UAB was a defensive struggle might even be an understatement. East Carolina held the Blazers to the fourth-lowest point total by a Conference USA opponent. However, conversely, it was the fewest points ever scored by ECU against a C-USA foe.
CONFERENCE USA: THE 11TH SEASON
East Carolina is in its 11th 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). The Pirates notched their first league tournament title with 79-70 triumph over Rice in the 2007 championship game at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
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 84 of the last 108 contests.
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.
THREE ME
With three (3) three-point field goals drained against UAB, East Carolina has made at least two triples in 57-straight games.
UP NEXT FOR EAST CAROLINA ECU returns home Wednesday, Jan. 18, to play host to UTEP. Tipoff between the Pirates and Miners is slated for 7 p.m. at Minges Coliseum.
