ECU Women's Basketball 2015-16 Season Preview
November 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Following a historical 2014-15 campaign that saw East Carolina reach the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship in its first year of league membership and record its third-straight 20-win season, sixth-year head coach Heather Macy will look to lead the Pirates' rapid rise into the national spotlight in 2015-16.
According to the The American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, reigning national champion UConn was picked to win the league with 100 voting points, followed by USF (91), Temple (76) and East Carolina (75) and Tulane (60) to round out the top five. Despite the opinion, Macy believes this year could be one of the most memorable campaigns in program history.
"I really feel like this is going to be a breakout year for our basketball program," Macy said. "I love the way we've been working and the team chemistry. Our effort is absolutely incredible. I've always said that we are going to hang our hats on the way that we work and this team defines it."
Macy begins the season just six shy of 100 wins at ECU, as her team returns its top two scorers from last season, including All-American Conference First Team selection Jada Payne, as well as Newcomer-of-the-Year and all-league second team pick I'Tiana Taylor. Additional help from returning players will be found from the likes of seniors Jasmine Phillips, DeVaughn Gray and Chelsie Keys.
Eligible for the Pirates in 2015-16 are four players who redshirted last season after transferring into the program, including sophomore Gabrielle Holston (Georgia Tech) and juniors Derreyal Youngblood (LSU), Khadidja Toure (Oregon State) and Marina Laramie (Indiana State).
"They had the opportunity to learn a lot about the offense and our system last year," Payne said. "We had a chance to practice with each other, so everyone is meshing pretty well."
Macy knows exactly how she will utilize those four players, particularly the size and length they will bring to this year's team, but thinks their mental improvements have been as significant as the physical ones.
"I like the size and I think that's the first thing that really stands out, but also their ability to score the basketball," Macy said. "What I saw with our four redshirts was the maturity that they gained. They look like returning players and not kids that may have sat out. I think that's attributed to the philosophy and design of our redshirt program."
Newcomers include freshman point guard Alex Frazier and junior college transfers Fanni Csutoras (Iowa Western College), Zippy Khasoa (Weatherford College) and Manesha Womble (Odessa College). Redshirt junior forward Bre McDonald arrives from West Virginia, but will be required to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. She will have one year of eligibility remaining in 2016-17.
East Carolina will play just two non-conference home games, Nov. 17 against Alcorn State and Nov. 20 versus Presbyterian, while five of the other 10 contests will be played in the state of Texas, two in Wilmington, N.C., one at Delaware, one at Auburn and the last in Myrtle Beach against the University of South Carolina.
Overall, the Pirates will play 15 of their 30 regular season games against 11 different opponents that received postseason invitations in 2014-15. Seven earned NCAA Tournament bids (Chattanooga, Northwestern, Ohio, South Carolina, UConn, USF, Tulane), including two Final Four participants, while four competed in the WNIT (Creighton, Eastern Washington, Temple, Tulsa). In those 30 regular season games, 19 will be at away or neutral sites.
"It's the price of doing business," Macy said. "With the success we've had in Greenville at Minges Coliseum, particularly that streak of 26-consecutive home wins, people aren't looking forward to coming in here to play. We're looking forward to going on the road. We're excited about that challenge and it will certainly test us going into conference games."
ECU will begin play in The American on Dec. 30 at Tulsa, before beginning 2016 at home against USF on Jan. 2. Winners of three-straight national championships, the UConn Huskies will come to Minges Coliseum on Feb. 20 for an 8 p.m., tilt. The conference tournament will be held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., March 4-7.
"Every night in our league, you have to be ready to play," Macy said. "We learned a year ago that one off day can be the difference between making the WNIT and the NCAA Tournament. I think our non-conference schedule prepares us for that and to know that, regardless of our circumstances, we have to be able to perform at an elite level."
If 2015-16 is anything similar to her previous two seasons, Payne will make a rapid climb up the ECU all-time scoring list, where she begins the year at No. 17. If she meets her two-year average (566 points), Payne will conclude her three-year career as the No. 3 scorer in program history. With 596 points, the Hickory, N.C., native will eclipse 2,000 for her playing career. Payne is also on pace to finish her collegiate career with the highest free throw and three-point field goal percentages, and after sinking 150 three-point field goals in her first two years, she needs just 52 more to take over the top spot on the all-time charts. All of these accomplishments will have been achieved in just three seasons in Greenville.
"I was excited about the way that we worked in our first practices," Macy said. "If we're still working that way during practice (number) 75, which I believe we will, then we will be the team that takes this program to a whole new level."
Rule changes by the NCAA will give the women's game a different look this season, with perhaps the most significant one being the transition from 20-minute halves to 10-minute quarters. Teams will now reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. Team fouls will reset to zero at the start of each quarter. Previously, teams reached a one-and-one bonus on the seventh team foul of each half and reached the double bonus (two shots) on the 10th team foul.
Additional alterations have been made to ball advancement to half court with the use of a timeout following made baskets with under one minute to play during the fourth quarter and overtime periods. Teams will not receive a new 10-second backcourt count when a throw-in results from a ball deflected out of bounds by the defense, when there is a held ball and the possession arrow favors the offensive team, or a technical foul is called on the offensive team while the ball is in its backcourt.
The Pirates' will have 13 regular-season contests broadcast on national television and other media platforms during the 2015-16 campaign, including ESPNU, ESPN3, CBS Sports Network and The American Digital Network.
