East Carolina Meets Houston Saturday Afternoon
January 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team will travel to Houston for its third American Athletic Conference road game of the season when it meets the Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 10. Opening tip is scheduled for 3 p.m. (EST) at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Pirates trail Houston, 9-3, in the all-time series, but have won each of the last two meetings, including the most recent one - a 68-59 triumph at Hofheinz in February 2013.
East Carolina (9-6, 0-4 AAC) is led by redshirt junior Jada Payne's 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while junior I'Tiana Taylor has put up 11.5 points and 9.8 boards this season, including 11.3 points, 13 rebounds and three steals per game in conference matchups. Junior Jasmine Phillips leads The American with 2.6 steals per game, while compiling 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds on 45.1-percent shooting.
Houston (6-9, 1-3 AAC) has lost four of its last five games and is coming off a tough double overtime setback against Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The Cougars are led by Jessieka Palmer's 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, Marche Amerson's 8.7 points and Tyler Gilbert's 7.8 points and team-leading 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
ALL OVER THE O-BOARDS
East Carolina has pulled down 20 or more offensive rebounds in eight of its first 15 games this season and in four of its last five heading into Saturday's contest. The Pirates currently rank ninth among all NCAA Division I programs with 18 offensive boards per game.
PRESSURING THE ROCK
Defensively, ECU has used its intense pressure on the ball to reduce the opposition's number of possessions. The Pirates enter the week beginning Monday, Jan. 5 ranked fifth among NCAA Division I teams with an average of 13.4 steals per game, sit in second place for the most blocks per game (7.2), trailing only Duke (7.4), and have forced opponents into an average of 24 turnovers per game and have generated 20 or more in five of the last six contests and 11 of 15 overall.
TAYLOR tURNS UP
Junior forward I'Tiana Taylor is coming off a monster performance against Tulane on Wednesday night, where she scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a personal-best 19 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and second in as many games. The Pflugerville, Texas native is averaging 11.3 points, 13 rebounds and three steals through the first four conference games of the year.
A PAIR OF RARE HOME DEFEATS
East Carolina, which posted 32-2 home record between 2012 and 2014, suffered back-to-back home losses to No. 2 Connecticut and Tulane in its first two American Athletic Conference league games, marking the first time since the 2011-12 season that the visitors left Minges Coliseum with consecutive victories.
TWO GUARDS SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY
Two Pirate point guards, senior Akia Jones and junior Khadijah Ellison, were suspended indefinitely for violations of team rules prior to ECU's Jan. 10 road game at Houston. Jones has made six appearances this season, while Ellison played in 13 of the team's first 15 games, averaging 1.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
AN ELITE SHOT-BLOCKER
Senior post player Ondrea Shaw currently stands 12th among all NCAA Division I players with an average of 3.3 blocks per game. Shaw has rejected five or more shots 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.
