East Carolina University
7-2
Ohio
6-1
East Carolina Hands Ohio First Loss, 76-68
December 06, 2014 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, Ohio - Jada Payne, Jasmine Phillips and Shae Nelson each scored in double figures, as the East Carolina women's basketball team handed Ohio its first loss of the season Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.
Payne finished with a game-high 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting overall, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, Phillips scored 18 and grabbed eight rebounds and Nelson also shot 4-for-6 from three to finish with 14 points.
Ohio (6-1) opened the game with an 11-0 run from the opening tip to the 16:26 mark, but East Carolina (7-2) responded with nine-straight points, five courtesy of Phillips, to cut the deficit to just two with 12:50 remaining in the first half.
The Pirates took their first lead of the night, 21-20, on a three by Payne with 6:10 to go, and despite losing that edge for a short span, reclaimed it after a triple by senior forward Shae Nelson made the score 26-25 in the midst of a 7-0 run that created ECU's largest advantage of the period, 30-25 with three minutes left in the period.
The Bobcats tied the game at 30-all on a pair of free throws by Quiera Lampkins, but a jumper by Nelson with under a minute on the clock gave the Pirates a two-point lead heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
East Carolina shot 11-for-25 (.440) from the floor, 3-for-5 (.600) from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 (.875) at the free throw line in the first half, while Ohio connected at a 30-percent clip on nine field goals, and shot 4-for-12 (.333) from 3-point range and 8-for-13 (.615) at the foul line.
Phillips scored ECU's first two baskets to open the second half, but both sides exchanged baskets, resulting in six lead changes during the first nine minutes of the period.
Trailing, 49-48, with 10:49 left in the game, the Pirates exploded onto a 16-0 scoring run that began with three-straight connections from beyond the arc by Nelson in a span of one minute and generated the largest lead of the night at 15 points with 7:28 remaining.
East Carolina held its double-digit advantage for the subsequent three minutes, until Kiyanna Black knocked down a three to bring the Bobcats within eight. Ohio's foul count grew as time on the game clock began to dwindle. Despite coming within as few as six points of ECU with 32 ticks remaining, the Bobcats were unable to hit any more shots, as the Pirates held on for an eight-point victory.
East Carolina finished the game shooting 23-for-51 (.451) overall and 9-for-15 (.600) from 3-point land, while going 21-for-28 (.750) from the free throw line. Ohio shot 20-for-58 (.345) from the floor, 7-for-25 (.280) from three and 21-for-29 at the foul stripe.
ECU outscored the Bobcats, 24-5, off the bench and 15-4 on second-chance baskets, while Ohio held a 26-22 advantage on points in the paint.
The Pirates will play their final game before final exams and close out its three-game road trip when it travels to Baltimore on Tuesday, Dec. 9 for a 7 p.m., tip-of at Loyola (Md.).
