East Carolina Opens American Conference Slate at Tulsa
December 29, 2015 | Women's Basketball
| Game 13: East Carolina at Tulsa | |
| Date | Wednesday, December 30 |
| Time | 8 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Tulsa, Okla. (Reynolds Center) |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Tuls a | American Conference |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Coverage |  ESPN3 |  Radio: (WZMB 91.3 FM) | @ECUScoreboard |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Following a 10-day hiatus, the East Carolina women's basketball team will close out the year when it plays at Tulsa in its 2015-16 American Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Opening tip-off is set for 8 p.m., at the Reynolds Center.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and available on the WatchESPN app. Dave Raymond will call the action with Angel Gray providing color analysis.
LAST TIME OUT
East Carolina (6-6) suffered an 88-57 loss to second-ranked South Carolina in the Carolinas Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 20. I'Tiana Taylor's 16 points were tied for a game-high, while Jada Payne added 14 points and Marina Laramie notched her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Gamecocks held the Pirates to a season-low 27.5-percent shooting and held a 54-37 advantage on the boards while knocking down 32 shots of their own.
ALL-TIME VERSUS TULSA
The Pirates and Golden Hurricane will face off for the 16th time overall, as ECU owns an 8-7 lead in the all-time series. Victors in four of the last six and six of the last nine meetings, the purple and gold claimed a 77-68 road win in the Reynolds Center last season, before Tulsa returned the favor in Minges just 10 days later to force a season split.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa (3-8) played a challenging non-conference slate of its own, but owns just a 1-4 record on its home court so far this season. Four players are averaging double-digit points, led by preseason all-conference second team choice Ashley Clark's team-best 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. Along with Clark, Kelsee Grovey (11.0 ppg), Teanna Reid (10.4 ppg) and Erika Wakefield (10.2 ppg/3.0 apg) make up two-thirds of the team's scoring.
TOUGH TRAVELS CONTINUE
The Pirates are in the midst of a 42-day spread between home games, with the last one coming against Presbyterian on Nov. 20. ECU will play no home games in the month of December and return to Minges Coliseum for its second conference game of the year against nationally-ranked USF on Jan. 2.
ANOTHER MACY MILESTONE
Sixth-year Head Coach Heather Macy won her 200th-career game at SMU last season and recently won No. 100 at ECU last Friday, Nov. 27 in the 80-62 victory over Eastern Washington at the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas. Macy is just five wins behind Cathy Andruzzi, 10 behind Catherine Bolton and 26 away from Sharon Baldwin-Tener for the top three spots in program history.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE HONOR ROLL
Jada Payne was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll each of the first three weeks this season (Nov. 16, Nov. 23 and Nov. 30). In each week, the Hickory, N.C., native averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. I'Tiana Taylor has received the same honors twice on her own (Dec. 7 and Dec. 21).
PAYNE BRINGS THE RAIN
Jada Payne broke her own ECU single-season record for three-pointers made with 80 in 33 games in 2014-15. She initially set the record in 2013-14 with 70 makes from beyond the arc and is on pace to break the school record for conversions in just three years:
Player 3-Pt FGM
1. Allison Spivey (2007-11) 201
2. Jasmine Young (2005-09) 178
3. Jada Payne (2013-pres.) 166
Justine Allpress (1993-97) 166
5. Jennifer Jackson (2001-05) 159
6. Tali Robich (1999-2003) 155
7. Misty Horne (1996-99) 137
8. LaCoya Terry (2005-09) 104
PAYNE CLIMBING ALL-TIME SCORING CHART
In just two full seasons, Jada Payne scored the 17th-most points in ECU history and is on pace to become one of top three scorers the program has ever had in just three years' time. She has scored 569 and 563 points, respectively, in each of the last two seasons and has 1,648-career points overall. With 352 more during her senior campaign, she will eclipse 2,000 for her career.
Player Points
1. Rosie Thompson (1975-80) 2,352
2. Mary Denkler (1979-83) 1,789
3. LaCoya Terry (2005-09) 1,648
4. Jasmine Young (2005-09) 1,591
5. Debbie Freeman (1974-78) 1,570
6. Tonya Hargrove (1988-92) 1,532
7. Jennifer Jackson (2001-05) 1,490
8. Jada Payne (2013-pres.) 1,376
9. Courtney Willis (2000-04) 1,374
10. Sylvia Bragg (1982-86) 1,366
