East Carolina University
6-7
Hampton
10-3
East Carolina Suffers Defeat At Hampton
January 02, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2012
HAMPTON, Va. - A large halftime deficit was too much for East Carolina to overcome Monday night, as it fell to Hampton 76-48 at the HU Convocation Center. The Pirates close non-conference play with a 6-7 record while the Lady Pirates improve to 10-3 overall.
Senior Chareya Smith netted 13 points to lead ECU offensively and freshman Tatiana Chapple corralled a team-best seven rebounds. Jericka Jenkins was the force for Hampton as she led three Hampton players in double figures with 25 points before exiting the game late.
The Lady Pirates held the upper hand over East Carolina in shooting percentage, nailing 48 percent of their tries from the field as compared to 37 percent for ECU. Hampton also enjoyed a healthy rebounding advantage at 40-29 with 15 offensive boards to its credit. The visiting Pirates were plagued by 20 turnovers, which allowed the Lady Pirates to score 16 second chance points.
Hampton jumped out to a 13-3 lead when Jenkins hit a three-point field goal with 16:09 on the clock, forcing a quick timeout from the Pirate sideline. The Lady Pirates continued the run, stretching their advantage to 21-5 a few minutes later.
The Hampton cushion grew to over 20 points as Alyssa Bennett knocked down a jumper to make the score 27-6 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. Katie Paschal cut the ECU deficit to 16 when she made a jumper of her own at the 6:00 mark, but the Lady Pirates outscored the visitors 11-3 the rest of the stanza to enjoy a 45-21 lead at the break.
Hampton drained 19 of its 34 field goals in the first 20 minutes to end up with a 56-percent shooting mark while the Pirates produced a 38-percent showing from the floor. The home side outrebounded ECU 20-11 and used nine offensive boards to score 11 second-chance points. East Carolina also turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 19 points for the Lady Pirates.
A quartet of East Carolina players scored four points in the half while Chapple grabbed a team-high three rebounds. Three Hampton players reached double figures, led by Jenkins' 15. Keiara Avant added six rebounds with three on the offensive glass.
Avant nailed a triple to extend the Hampton lead to 52-23 before Bryelle Smith answered with a three from the right wing to make the score 58-32 with 12:59 left in the game. Kristine Mial would cut into the deficit further, pulling ECU to within 58-36 with a free throw. The rally would end there, however, as East Carolina could come no closer the rest of the way.
Prior to the contest, head coach Heather Macy announced that junior guard Shala Hodges has been suspended from the team indefinitely for a violation of team rules.
East Carolina opens its Conference USA slate Thursday, Jan. 5 with a road contest against UCF. Tipoff at the UCF Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
