East Carolina Clips Ball State In Overtime, 82-69

Thursday, November 24

Savannah, Ga

4:30 PM

East Carolina University

5-2

Ball State

3-2

OT 1

East Carolina

Ball State

Photo by: Rob Taylor

November 24, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SAVANNAH, Ga. – After redshirt senior guard Antoinette Bannister hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to send the game into overtime, East Carolina out-scored Ball State 19-6 in the extra period to claim an 82-69 non-conference victory to close out the Savannah Invitational.

It is the second overtime victory of the young campaign for ECU, who defeated Detroit 83-81 at home back on Nov. 13.

Redshirt senior guard Khadidja Toure netted a game and career-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting and four three-point field goals while redshirt senior forward Bre McDonald poured in 22 to finish the tournament with three double-digit scoring efforts. Graduate forward Kristen Gaffney ended up with nine points and nine rebounds in 39 minutes of work. Moriah Monaco paced the Cardinals with 16 points and eight rebounds.

East Carolina converted 31 of its 67 (.463) attempts from the field in the contest, including a 7-for-9 showing in overtime, while Ball State shot 42.1 percent (24-for-57). The Cardinals held a 38-36 edge on the glass as well as the upper hand in the paint, scoring 32 points down low. The Pirates forced Ball State into 17 turnovers while only committing 12 themselves.

Team Records: East Carolina (5-2) | Ball State (3-2)

HEAD COACH HEATHER MACY QUOTE
"Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Our kids could not have played with more heart today. They stuck to the game plan and never gave up until the final buzzer so I am really proud of them. Antoinette keeps hitting big shots for us but, if we rebound and defend better, she won't be in those situations.

"You also have to talk about the way Toure played today. Not only did she score the basketball, but also defended really well."

FIRST QUARTER
Ball State went on a quick 8-2 run to begin the contest before a jumper by freshman guard Raven Johnson at the 7:57 mark brought ECU to within 8-4. The Cardinal lead grew to eight as the quarter wore on when Destiny Washington hit a jumper to make the score 14-6 with 2:39 on the clock. Each team scored two points in the final stretch of the period to leave Ball State ahead by eight heading to the second.

SECOND QUARTER
A jumper by Gaffney sparked a quick 7-0 burst by East Carolina in the first minute and a half that sent the Cardinals scrambling for a timeout with their lead cut down to 16-15. A triple by Bannister at 6:03 afforded the Pirates their first lead of the game at 20-18 and a back and forth battle for the lead ensued from there. With the score knotted at 28, Johnson took a jumper from the top of the key and drained it before ECU got a key stop on the last play of the half to take a two-point edge into the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER
The Pirates nailed three triples in the first two-plus minutes out of the locker room to establish a 41-32 advantage at the 6:28 mark. Ball State began to chip away, scoring the next seven points to pull within two points with 3:59 to play in the frame. Consecutive jumpers by McDonald and sophomore guard Alex Frazier pushed the East Carolina lead back to six, but a triple by Monaco put the Cardinals up 47-45 with 48 ticks on the clock before freshman guard Dominique Claytor knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the score for the final points of the stanza.

FOURTH QUARTER
Toure cooly nailed a three for the first points of the fourth, but two Cardinal layups swung the lead back to Ball State. The teams worked through a number of lead changes and ties before the Cardinals were able to move in front by a four-point margin when Monaco hit a free throw with 3:49 to go. ECU kept the Ball State offense pretty much at bay over the final minutes of regulation, but found itself down 63-60 after a Carmen Grande free throw with 11.3 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Toure found Bannister on the left wing and she launched a deep three-point attempt that rattled through to tie the score. McDonald came up with a big block to deny the Cardinals the win on their last possession and send the game to overtime.

OVERTIME
With all of the momentum on its side, East Carolina ripped off a 9-0 run to begin the extra period that was sparked by a Toure old fashioned three-point play. Ball State would not recover as the Pirates kept the pedal down and went ahead by as many as 15 before settling for the 13-point margin of victory.

UP NEXT
East Carolina returns home Monday, Nov. 28, for a non-conference matchup against Big South foe Presbyterian. Tipoff from Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m.