East Carolina University
-617, 010 CUSA
UAB
-175, 82 CUSA
Pirate Rally Falls Short At UAB
February 09, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - East Carolina cut a 14-point halftime deficit down to six Thursday night at UAB, but could not complete the rally as the Blazers notched a 58-47 victory at Bartow Arena. The Pirates fall to 6-17 overall and 0-10 in Conference USA play while UAB improved to 17-5 and 8-2, staying in second place in the league standings.
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.
UAB came out of the gates on fire, hitting eight of its first 10 shots to take a 17-8 advantage with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Blazers kept it going, stretching the advantage to 22-10 when Karisma Chapman nailed a three-pointer from the left wing.
Mial hit a pair of three-point field goals to cap a 6-0 run and pull ECU to within 22-16 at the 7:58 mark, but East Carolina went cold from the floor over the next four minutes and UAB pushed the lead back to 10 when Kelsie Weynand hit a triple. The Blazers would stay ahead by double figures into halftime, as Weynand knocked down another shot from long range to make it 35-21.
ECU put up two more attempts from the home team in the first stanza, but hit just 29 percent of them while UAB finished at 45 percent. The Blazers also held an advantage on the glass, 23-15, and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. Mial led the Pirates with nine points on a trio of three-pointers and Britny Edwards pulled down a team-best three rebounds. East Carolina was not awarded a free throw attempt in the period while UAB hit five of eight.
The Blazers upped the Pirates' deficit to 20 quickly as the second half opened, hitting a pair of three-pointers in their first two possessions. However, ECU responded with six-straight points to slice the UAB lead to 14 and force a full timeout from the Blazer bench.
With the clock ticking under 10 minutes, the Pirates turned up the defensive intensity and made a push, scoring six points off of layups and pulling the score to within 47-39. Shala Hodges drained a trey from the top of the key to make it a six-point game at the 4:40 mark, however, a quick 5-0 run put UAB up double digits once more. That would be enough for the Blazers to run out the clock and secure the win.
ECU returns home Sunday for a contest with Marshall. Tipoff at Minges Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. The Pirates will celebrate National Women and Girls in Sports Day as well as try to Pack the House in their designated Play4Kay (formerly WBCA Pink Zone) contest. All fans wearing pink will receive free admission to the game.
