Pirates Play 4Kay Against Marshall Sunday
February 11, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2012
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| Marshall at East Carolina Feb. 12, 2012 | 2:00 p.m. ET Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum) TV: None |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina returns home Sunday after two games on the road, facing Marshall for the Pirates' annual "Play 4Kay" Day. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is scheduled for 2 p.m. and all fans wearing pink will receive free admission.
Play 4Kay is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The official charity is the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
In addition to honoring Coach Yow, an East Carolina alumna, ECU hosts its Pack the House Challenge as well as celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Against the Thundering Herd, the Pirates will look to get back on track after losing their last 14 contests and try to pick up their first Conference USA victory of the campaign. In its last outing at UAB, East Carolina fell by a 58-47 count after whittling a 20-point second-half deficit down to just six.
Sophomore Kristine Mial paced East Carolina with 13 points to go along with five steals. Joining Mial in double figures offensively was Chareya Smith who netted 10 points. Tatiana Chapple and Britny Edwards pulled down six rebounds apiece while Janesha Ebron handed out a team-best four assists.
The Pirates shared the ball well, racking up 18 assists on 21 baskets, but were out-rebounded 38-29 and out-shot by a slim margin of 40 to 38 percent. While the Blazers came into the contest averaging just 15 turnovers per game, East Carolina forced the home team into 21 miscues and scored 17 points as a result.
Inside the Matchup
- Marshall lost a 64-56 decision to UTEP Thursday and has dropped seven of its last eight games after starting the season 12-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.
- The Thundering Herd roster sports a whopping 18 players, of which 15 are experiencing playing time in the conference season. Marshall has 11 players averaging double-digit minutes per game.
- ECU has won four-straight against the Thundering Herd, including the last six played at Minges Coliseum.
- Marshall enjoys a +5.8 rebounding margin and allows teams just 34.6 boards per contest in league play. The Herd also shoots the three-ball well in C-USA affairs, firing at a league second-best .304 clip from range.
THE SERIES: MARSHALL
East Carolina and Marshall meet for the 16th time in a series that began in 1980 . ECU owns a 9-6 lead overall and has won six of the last seven matchups and four consecutive over the Herd.
CASHING IN ON THE FREEBIES
During the last nine games, ECU's free-throw shooting has improved immensely as the Pirates are at 66 percent in those contests. In the game at Southern Miss, East Carolina knocked down 14 of its 15 attempts from the line for season-best 93 percent - the highest for the Pirates since a 16-for-17 performance at Tulane Jan. 13 of last season.
MIAL DIALED IN FROM RANGE
Sophomore Kristine Mial is getting it done from beyond the arc recently. In the last five games, she has hit 10 three-point field goals, including three at UAB to end up with a team-best 13 points. Currently, Mial has a 10-game streak of at least one three-pointer made.
MAKING HER RETURN
After sitting out eight games due to suspension, junior and leading scorer Shala Hodges is working her way back into playing form. She has dropped in 24 points and has gone 8-for-9 from the foul line in the last three contests.
FINISH THE JOB
East Carolina has had the lead or been tied at halftime in 11 of its 21 contests this season. However, the Pirates have been able to win just five of those games and have dropped five straight.
THREE ME
With four (4) three-point field goals drained at UAB, East Carolina has made at least two triples in 65-straight games.
UP NEXT FOR EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina returns to action Thursday, Feb. 16, when it welcomes Houston to Minges Coliseum for a C-USA contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
