ECU Women's Hoops Hosts Tulsa on Alumni Day
January 23, 2015 | Women's Basketball
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After claiming a road win at Tulsa just 10 days prior, the East Carolina women's basketball team will complete its regular-season series against the Golden Hurricane as it celebrates Alumni Day on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum. Opening tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast by ESPN3.
As part of the Alumni Day celebration, more than 40 former players and head coaches will be in attendance and recognized throughout a series of events during the day leading up to opening tip-off. The annual alumni game is scheduled for 9:45 a.m.
East Carolina (13-6, 4-4 AAC) took down the Golden Hurricane, 77-68, for its second of four-straight American Athletic Conference victories on Jan. 14 at the Reynolds Center, and improved to 8-6 in the all-time series between the two programs. Redshirt junior Jada Payne scored a game-high 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, while senior Shae Nelson (13) and juniors DeVaughn Gray (11) and Jasmine Phillips (10) reached double-figure points off the bench.
The Pirates are in search of their fifth win in a row, which would tie its longest winning streak of the season since starting the season 5-0 and mark the second straight year in which they won five-consecutive conference games. Payne is averaging more than 20 points per game over the last four and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with 17.6 points per game this season, while junior forward I'Tiana Taylor is logging a double-double during the span with more than 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Tulsa (8-10, 3-4 AAC) has lost two of its last three and three of its last five matchups with its most recent setback coming in a 73-34 defeat at Tulane on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Golden Hurricane ranks second in the conference in both field goal percentage (.422) and assists per game (14.8), but sits at the bottom of the league in field goal percentage defense (.449), rebounding (33.9) and blocks (1.2). Three Tulsa players average double-figure scoring, led by Ashley Clark's 12.8, Mariah Turner's 12.3 and Kelsee Grovey's 10.2 points per game.
MACY COLLECTS CAREER WIN NO. 200
Head coach Heather Macy, in her 10th season as a head coach and fifth at ECU, earned her 200th-career victory as a head coach in the Pirates' 67-49 road win at SMU on Jan. 24. It was also her 85th tally in the win column during her tenure at the helm of the East Carolina program.
KEYS TO THE WINNING STREAK
In the midst of their four-game winning streak, the Pirates have held significant statistical advantages in crucial categories to tilt the score in their favor. ECU is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from three-point range while locking down the perimeter on the defensive end, as Houston, Tulsa, Memphis and SMU have combined to make just 19 percent (12-for-63) from three-point range. East Carolina is also outscoring those four opponents, 103-50, off the bench and 77-50 off turnovers, while winning by an average of 22.3 points per game.
STARTING FIVE AIMS FOR FIVE-STRAIGHT
ECU has used the same starting lineup in each of its last four contests entering Saturday's game, which has produced four-straight conference wins. The lineup comprises seniors in point guard Janesha Ebron, wing player Abria Trice and forward Tatiana Chapple, as well as juniors Jada Payne and I'Tiana Taylor at the guard and forward positions, respectively.
EBRON CLIMBING ALL-TIME ASSISTS LIST
Senior point guard Janesha Ebron cracked the top 10 of the program's all-time assists list with five in the win at Tulsa on Jan. 14. She passed Delphine Mabry (1982-87) who had 291 for her career, and with five more dimes in the win at SMU on Jan. 21, became the 10th player to record 300 in a career.
TOP SWAT TEAM
ECU currently sits in sixth place for the most blocks per game (6.7) among NCAA Division I teams. East Carolina rejected 10 or more shots in three-straight games in December, a streak that began with 15 blocked shots in the 82-33 win at Loyola Maryland on Dec. 9, and matched the program record initially set on Jan. 18, 1975 against Elon.
PICKING POCKETS
As of Wednesday, Jan. 21, the Pirates rank ninth among NCAA Division I teams with an average of 12 steals per game. They totaled 21 steals in the season-opening win over Fairfield, and have recorded 12 or more in 11 of 19 games this season.
all over the O-boards
East Carolina has pulled down 20 or more offensive rebounds in eight different games this season. The Pirates currently rank 12th among all NCAA Division I programs with an average of 18 per game, and have matched or exceeded that amount 10 times on the year.
PRESSURING THE ROCK
Defensively, ECU has used its defensive pressure on the ball to create turnovers and transition runs. East Carolina has forced opponents into an average of 23 turnovers per game and has generated 20 or more in six of the last nine contests and 12 of 19 overall.
