Women's Basketball Travels To Tulsa For Sunday Matinee
February 17, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2012
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| East Carolina at Tulsa Feb. 19, 2012 | 2:00 p.m. ET Tulsa, Okla. (Reynolds Center) TV: None |
 Watch Online |  Gametracker |  Game Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central |
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TULSA, Okla. - With some newfound momentum on its side, East Carolina travels to Tulsa Sunday for a Conference USA contest against the Golden Hurricane. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. as the Pirates play a regular season game at the Reynolds Center for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Playing its last two games at home has seemed to boost the confidence of an ECU side which has picked up 61-57 and 83-77 victories over Marshall and Houston, respectively. The Pirates recorded their second-highest offensive outburst of the campaign against the Cougars and have now captured two of the last three matchups with Houston after dropping the first eight in the series.
East Carolina posted a campaign second-best 21 assists on 28 baskets with Celeste Stewart handing out seven of the helpers against just two turnovers in her 32 minutes played. Additionally, ECU hit nine three-point field goals - the same number it drained against St. Andrew's on Nov. 13.
Senior Chareya Smith posted a season-best 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Three other Pirates netted double figures offensively with Kristine Mial, Janesha Ebron and Shala Hodges contributing 19, 11 and 10 respectively. Mial just missed a double-double as she grabbed nine rebounds as well as picking up two blocks and a steal. She also extended her streak of games with a three-point field goal made to 12.
The Cougars had the upper hand shooting the basketball, knocking down 26 of their 54 shots to finish at 48 percent, but the Pirates put up 64 attempts and drained 28 of those shots for 44 percent. Houston sizzled from beyond the arc, keeping itself in the contest by nailing 10 of 13 from range. ECU helped itself on the glass, out-rebounding the visitors 45-31, and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds which turned into 15 second-chance points. The Cougars turned the ball over 20 times and East Carolina took advantage by scoring 28 points off those miscues. The Pirates also enjoyed a 10-5 advantage in the steals column.
Inside the Matchup
- Tulsa enters the game looking to get back on track after losses at Rice and at home to league leader UTEP. The Golden Hurricane fell to the Miners 64-54 in the squad's last outing.
- Dynamic point guard and junior Taleya Mayberry makes the Tulsa offense flow, averaging 13.7 points per game as well as boasting 71 assists and 40 steals. She is joined in the backcourt by Taylor Hooker who also averaged double figures offensively (11.4 p/g) and has racked up 70 steals and 54 assists.
- The last meeting between the programs occurred in the 2011 C-USA Tournament in El Paso where the No. 5 seed ECU downed the No. 12 seed Tulsa by a 71-62 count.
- The Golden Hurricane is led by first-year head coach Matilda Mossman, who also owns head coaching experience at Arkansas and Kansas State.
- Tulsa scores nearly a third of its points off of turnovers so taking care of the basketball will be a key factor in the game. The squads are tied for 11th in the league in turnover margin (conference games only).
THE SERIES: TULSA
East Carolina and Tulsa meet for the ninth time in a series that began in 2006. Each team has won four meetings but the Pirates have taken four of the last six matchups and are 1-1 at the Reynolds Center.
CASHING IN ON THE FREEBIES
After suffering through a dismal stretch at the foul line to begin the season, the Pirates have dramatically improved at the stripe. During the last 11 games, ECU is firing at 67 percent. 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 on Jan. 13 of last season. ECU has also been clutch in the last two minutes of wins over Marshall and Houston, hitting 12 of 15 free throws to seal the victories.
MIAL DIALED IN FROM RANGE
Sophomore Kristine Mial is getting it done from beyond the arc recently. In the last seven games, she has hit 15 three-point field goals, including six in the last two home wins. Currently, Mial owns a 12-game streak of at least one three-pointer made.
EDWARDS CLOSING IN ON BLOCKS TOP 10
Junior Britny Edwards picked up a block against Houston Thursday to move her within six of catching Jean Best for 10th on the single-season list.
SUCCESS AT MINGES
ECU has won 14 of its last 20 overall and nine of the last 14 in conference play at Minges Coliseum. Going even further back, the Pirates have captured 40 of the last 54 contests in Greenville.
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.
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 89 of the last 117 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 nine (9) three-point field goals drained against Houston, East Carolina has made at least two triples in 67-straight games.
UP NEXT FOR EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina returns home Thursday, Feb. 23, for a C-USA matchup with UCF. The Knights downed the Pirates by six earlier this season in Orlando.
