East Carolina Rekindles Rivalry at Memphis Sunday
January 03, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team will renew a rivalry and play its first game of the new year when it travels to Memphis in search of its first American Athletic Conference victory on Sunday, Dec. 4. Opening tip is scheduled for 3 p.m., (EST) at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The all-time series is deadlocked in an 11-11 tie, with ECU claiming a 69-52 home victory in the last meeting on March 3, 2013. The Pirates' last victory in Memphis came in a 77-76 overtime triumph on Feb. 27, 2010 at FedEx Forum.
East Carolina (9-4, 0-2 American), which has forced 20 or more turnovers in four-straight contests and 10 of its first 13 games of the season, is led by redshirt junior Jada Payne's 17.4 points and I'Tiana Taylor's 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior Jasmine Phillips leads the conference with 2.8 steals per game.
Memphis (6-7, 0-2 American) dropped its first two league games to Temple and on the road a USF, and has lost three of its last four entering Sunday's matchup. The Tigers are led by preseason all-conference selection Ariel Hearn and her 15.8 points per game. Mooriah Rowser ranks second with 11.8 points, while Brianna Wright averages and impressive 9.5 rebounds which ranks third in The American.
ECU currently sits in second place for the most blocks per game (7.4) 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. The Pirates followed up that performance with 10 swats in a 65-36 home win over Norfolk State on Dec. 20, before turning aside 10 more in its first conference game of the season at USF eight days later.
The Pirates enter the week beginning Monday, Dec. 29 ranked fifth among NCAA Division I teams with an average of 14.1 steals per game. They totaled 21 steals in the season-opening win over Fairfield, and have recorded 12 or more in 10 of 13 games this season.
East Carolina ranks 33rd in the country in scoring defense, surrendering just 56.1 points per game. The Pirates also stand 43rd nationally in field goal percentage defense, allowing just 35.3 percent of shots to fall. Only UConn (89) has eclipsed the 70-point barrier against ECU this season.
AN ELITE SHOT-BLOCKER
Senior post player Ondrea Shaw currently stands eighth among all NCAA Division I players with an average of 3.4 blocks per game. Shaw has rejected five or more shots in three-straight games and on four different occasions this season. The Los Angeles, Calif., native finished the 2013-14 campaign ninth in the nation with 3.3 blocks per contest.
DANGEROUS FROM DEEP
Preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection Jada Payne is shooting 35-for-75 from three-point range, while her 46.7 percent conversion rate ranks 19th among all NCAA Division I players. The Hickory, N.C., native has made multiple shots from beyond the arc in all but one game this season.
COUNTDOWN TO 200
Head coach Heather Macy, in her 10th season as a head coach and fifth at ECU, entered the season with 187-career wins and is now just four victories away from 200 for her career.
