East Carolina Completes Season Series With Memphis Sunday
January 28, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2012
 vs.  |
| Memphis at East Carolina Jan. 29, 2012 | 2 p.m. ET Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum) TV: None |
 Watch Online |  Gametracker |  Game Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After two games in Texas, East Carolina returns home for its second matchup of the season with Memphis. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is slated for 2 p.m.
The Pirates look to get back on track and record their first Conference USA win of the season as well as capture a victory for the first time since Dec. 18 of 2011 when they downed Jacksonville 70-64 in Myrtle Beach. Half of ECU's league defeats have occurred by single digits, including a 62-59 decision at the Tigers' home facility just two weeks ago.
Freshman Janesha Ebron posted career-high marks in points and rebounds with nine in each category in East Carolina's last outing at Rice, but the Pirates could not overcome a large first-half deficit and fell 66-44. Chareya Smith led ECU with 10 points. The Pirates out-rebounded the home team 49-43, but were done in by a 24-percent shooting performance. ECU also turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 26 Owl points off those miscues.
Despite dropping their last three contests at Minges Coliseum, the Pirates have won 12 of 15 and 38 of their last 50 at the venue. East Carolina holds a 5-3 mark at home this season.
Inside the Matchup
- The Tigers enter Sunday's matchup off of a 71-58 win against Marshall at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Jasmine Lee posted her ninth double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds, both game highs.
- Memphis is 2-1 on the road in league games, falling at UTEP (66-60) while picking up wins at Southern Miss (85-44) and UAB (70-59). ECU is 0-2 at home in C-USA affairs with losses to UAB (44-39) and UTEP (66-56).
- 2011-12 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Brittany Carter paces Memphis in scoring at 17.1 points per game. In the teams' earlier meeting this season, she fouled out and ended up with five points in 22 minutes of playing time.
- The Tigers bring a potent offense to Greenville as they are averaging 68.2 points per game in league play. Conversely, the Pirates are allowing 60.8 points per contest through six C-USA outings.
- Memphis is the top shooting team in the league from beyond the arc, having knocked down 41 percent of its tries in conference play. However, ECU is pretty stingy in its three-point field goal defense, ranking fourth in that category and allowing just 24 percent from long range.
The Series: Memphis
East Carolina and Memphis meet for the 20th time in a series that began in 2002. ECU owns a 10-9 lead overall and the teams have split the last six contests.
Free Throws Coming Around
It is no secret the Pirates have struggled at the free throw line for much of the season. However, that may be turning around as of late. Entering the UAB contest, ECU was firing at just 58 percent at the charity stripe. In the last five games, East Carolina has produced a mark of 63 percent.
Finish the Job
East Carolina has had the lead or been tied at halftime in 11 of its 17 contests this season. However, the Pirates have been able to win just five of those games and have dropped five straight.
Mixing it Up
Due to injury and various other reasons, head coach Heather Macy has had to submit four different starting lineups in the last eight games.
Stay in the Game
Junior Britny Edwards played 39 minutes in the 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.
Home is Where the Wins Are
With a victory against Monmouth, ECU tied the longest home winning streak in program history at 12 before falling to VCU to snap the string. The Pirates last won 12-straight contests at Minges Coliseum during the 2009-10 campaign, beginning with the first game of the season and ending with a close five-point loss to eventual C-USA champion Tulane.
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 85 of the last 111 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 two (2) three-point field goals drained at Rice, East Carolina has made at least two triples in 61-straight games.
Up Next for East Carolina
The Pirates host Tulane Thursday, Feb. 2, in their only televised contest of the season. The matchup will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
