Pirates Meet Bearcats Tuesday, Seek Third Straight Win
February 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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GREENVILLE, N.C.- Looking for its third straight victory and coming off a seven-day hiatus between games, the East Carolina women's basketball team will travel to Cincinnati for the first time in 11 years on Tuesday, Feb. 10 for an American Athletic Conference matchup. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Fifth Third Arena.
The Pirates and Bearcats last met as Conference USA foes on Feb. 11, 2005, as ECU rolled to a 55-31 home victory. ECU last played at Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2004, where UC held on for a 78-72 double-overtime victory. The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 4-2.
East Carolina (15-8, 6-6 AAC) is in search of its third win in as many games, after picking up a road victory at Tulane Jan. 31 and a home win over Houston Feb. 3. Redshirt junior Jada Payne leads the team with 16.7 points per game and is averaging 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Junior forward I'Tiana Taylor is second in scoring at 10.9 points per contest and ranks among the top rebounders in The American with 9.9 per game. The Pirates are forcing opponents into 21.7 turnovers each time out and own a +2.2 turnover margin and +6.0 advantage on the boards.
Cincinnati (6-17, 3-8 AAC) enters Tuesday night with two-straight road losses at No. 2 Connecticut and USF, and has come up on the short end of the final score in six of its last seven games. The Bearcats have three players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Marley Hill's 12.5 points, team-best 9.2 rebounds and team-high 42.2-percent field goal percentage. Ana Owens is scoring 12.3 points per night and leads the team in assists, while Jasmine Whitfield is netting 10.6 points per game. UC owns a -12.4 scoring margin, -2.5 difference in rebounding and trails its opponents, -5.3, in turnovers.
PAYNE CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
Jada Payne has scored 954 points in just 54-career games at East Carolina and, with 46 more, will become just the 22nd player in program history to eclipse 1,000. Allison Spivey (2007-11) was the last to break the threshold and ranks 20th all-time with 1,043.
PHILLIPS DOUBLE DIPS ON HOUSTON
Junior guard Jasmine Phillips recorded her second double-double of the season in the Pirates' 79-56 victory over Houston on Feb. 3. The Hartsville, S.C., native notched her first with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the 87-46 road win over the Cougars on Jan. 10, before putting up 14 points, 10 boards and five dimes the second time around. Her 10 rebounds and five assists are career highs.
NELSON NETTING BIG SHOTS
One of the team's most important players coming off the bench, senior forward Shae Nelson sunk important shots at key points in East Carolina's back-to-back conference wins over Tulane and Houston. The Cordova, Tenn., native hit a pair of threes inside the final four minutes, the second a go-ahead conversion to cap off a 14-2 scoring run, in ECU's 67-63 comeback win over the Green Wave on Jan. 31. She finished with 13 points and a career-high four assists. Nelson then scored a game-high 18 points and shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the 79-56 victory against Houston on Feb. 3.
THE TRICE FACTOR
Redshirt senior wing player Abria Trice has scored a season-high 16 points in each of ECU's last two games, both victories over Tulane and Houston. She has also been a primary go-to option, scoring the Pirates' last two baskets in the final minute of the 67-63 triumph over the Green Wave on Jan. 31, and shot a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the 79-56 win over Houston.
A COMEBACK TO REMEMBER
Trailing 57-47 with 5:50 left on the clock, ECU ended the game with a 20-6 scoring run and earned a 67-63 comeback victory at Tulane on Jan. 31. The Pirates shot 6-for-7 overall, including 4-for-5 beyond the arc as both Jada Payne and Shae Nelson combined to hit four-consecutive triples, and 4-for-5 at the free throw line during that span to hand the Green Wave just its fifth loss in 21 games.
