East Carolina Hosts Temple Saturday on ESPN3
January 29, 2016 | Women's Basketball
| Game 21: East Carolina vs. Temple | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 30 |
| Time | 2:30 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum) |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Temple | American Conference |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Coverage |  ESPN3 |  Radio: (WZMB 91.3 FM) | @ECUScoreboard |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team will play its final game in the month of January when it welcomes Temple to Minges Coliseum for the first time on Saturday, Jan. 30. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 immediately following the men's game beforehand.
PROMOTIONS
Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear the color purple for the team's "Paint It Purple" promotion. The five-time World Champion Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope team will perform at halftime, and host a clinic inside the arena at 5 p.m. ECU players will also be available for postgame autographs.
LAST TIME OUT
East Carolina (9-11, 3-5 AAC) placed four scorers in double-digits, but dropped a 78-73 road contest at Tulane last Saturday afternoon. Jada Payne led all scorers with 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting overall, including a 4-for-6 day from beyond the three-point arc, en route to eclipsing the 1,800-career point mark. Marina Laramie added 12 points, while I'Tiana Taylor and DeVaughn Gray chipped in 10 points apiece. Leslie Vorpahl led the Green Wave with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Kolby Morgan added 18 points and six boards.
ALL-TIME VERSUS TEMPLE
The Pirates and Owls will meet for the third time overall with the overall series tied, 1-1. Temple earned a 79-69 home victory last season in the first matchup on Feb. 28, before fifth-seeded ECU got revenge just one week later with a 77-71 triumph over the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals of the 2015 American Conference Tournament.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple (12-7, 6-2 AAC) enters Saturday's game following a 72-54 win at Tulane on Tuesday evening to improve to 5-5 on the road this season. The Owls are led by sophomore guard Alliya Butts' 15.8 points per game, while guard Feyonda Fitzgerald averages 14.8 points and a team-best 4.9 assists each time out. Tanaya Atkinson is adding 12.1 points per contest and ranks among the teams top three rebounders with six per game. Temple is shooting 40 percent from the field as a team and just over 30 percent from beyond the arc, while accumulating 69.2 points each game. The Owls own a +6.4 scoring margin and +2.7 turnover margin.
PAYNE AN ALL-AMERICA CHOICE IN THE MAKING
Redshirt senior wing player Jada Payne has been one of the nation's best offensive players in 2015-16 and has the numbers to prove it. Payne is one of just three NCAA Division I players to average more than 20 points and shoot over 50 percent from the field. The Preseason All-American Athletic Conference choice's 20.3 points per contest rank 19th and her 10 double-doubles rank in the top 20 nationally.
FEELS BRAND NEW
East Carolina graduated six players last season, but only three of its six returners have been able to see the court this season. Those three (Jada Payne, I'Tiana Taylor and DeVaughn Gray) were responsible for 33.9 of the Pirates' 66.6 points per game last season, and are currently producing 42.1 of the team's 69.3 points per contest this season.
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.) 177
4. Justine Allpress (1993-97) 166
5. Jennifer Jackson (2001-05) 159
TAYLOR'S TALE
I'Tiana Taylor has posted six double-doubles in ECU's first eight conference games this season and has 10 total. In league play, Taylor is averaging 14.5 points and 12.6 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE HONOR ROLL
Jada Payne has been named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll five times this season (Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Jan. 4 and Jan. 11), while I'Tiana Taylor has been named four times (Dec. 7, Dec. 21, Jan. 18 and Jan. 25).
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. Payne surpassed 1,500 in just her third season at East Carolina on Jan. 17 at USF and has 1,810-career points. With 190 more during her senior campaign, an average of 17.3 per game the rest of this season, 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. Jada Payne (2013-pres.) 1,538
7. Tonya Hargrove (1988-92) 1,532
8. Jennifer Jackson (2001-05) 1,490
9. Courtney Willis (2000-04) 1,374
10. Sylvia Bragg (1982-86) 1,366
DOUBLE-DOUBLE BUBBLE
East Carolina has had at least one player record a double-double in all but two games this season, which included a streak of 13-straight contests from Nov. 27 through Jan. 20 while two or more players have notched a double-double in the same game six times:
Nov. 22 at Delaware
Payne - 22 points/17 rebounds
Taylor - 11 points/11 rebounds
Nov. 27 vs. Eastern Washington
Payne - 20 points/16 rebounds
Taylor - 14 points/10 rebounds
Nov. 28 vs. No. 19 Northwestern
Taylor - 27 points/17 rebounds
Payne - 22 points/13 rebounds
Laramie - 14 points/10 rebounds
Dec. 19 vs. Ohio
Taylor - 19 points/17 rebounds
Laramie - 11 points/10 rebounds
Jan. 5 vs. Tulane
Payne - 12 points/10 rebounds
Taylor - 12 points/12 rebounds
Jan. 14 vs. Houston
Payne - 24 points/10 rebounds
Taylor - 21 points/16 rebounds
