East Carolina Travels to Memphis for Road Finale
February 26, 2016 | Women's Basketball
| Game 29: East Carolina at Memphis | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 27 |
| Time | 3 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Memphis, Tenn. (Elma Roane Fieldhouse) |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Memphis | American Conference |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Coverage |  American Digital Network |  Radio: (WZMB 91.3 FM) | @ECUScoreboard |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team will play its final road game of the season when it travels to Memphis for a conference tilt on Saturday, Feb. 27. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET) at Elma Roane Fieldhouse and the game will be broadcast on the American Digital Network.
LAST TIME OUT
Jada Payne moved into third place on the program's all-time scoring list and Marina Laramie registered her fourth double-double of the season with a career-high 31 points and season-high 11 rebounds, as the East Carolina (11-17, 5-11 AAC) women's basketball team picked up a 77-55 win at Cincinnati on Wednesday night. Payne finished the night with 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting with six rebounds and four assists, while Laramie shot 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-4, from three-point range. I'Tiana Taylor compiled her conference-leading 15th double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 boards while adding four assists.
ALL-TIME VERSUS MEMPHIS
The Pirates trail the Tigers, 13-12, in the all-time series and their last victory in Memphis came on Feb. 27, 2010 in a 77-76 overtime triumph at the FedEx Forum. ECU has come up empty in its last six trips to Elma Roane Fieldhouse, with its last victory in the venue coming in a 69-57 decision on Jan. 20, 2007. Last year in Memphis, Brianna Wright sent the game to overtime after sinking a pair of free throws with 0.1 seconds left, before the Tigers earned a 60-57 win.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis (16-11, 10-6 AAC) is coming off a six-day break between games after a 97-82 loss at USF on Sunday snapped a four-game winning streak. The Tigers are led by junior guard Ariel Hearn's 14.2 points and four assists per game, while Mooriah Rowser also averages double-digits with 10.9 points per contest. Memphis scores 66.6 points as a team on the year and shoots 42.2 percent from the field, but owns a -3.6 rebounding margin.
WHEN THEY LAST MET…
On Feb. 13, the Tigers escaped Greenville with a 79-78 overtime victory. Four Pirates scored in double-figures, led by I'Tiana Taylor's 13th double-double with 22 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the field while matching a career-high with 19 rebounds. Jada Payne added 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while DeVaughn Gray added 16 points, five boards and three assists off the bench. Ariel Hearn led the Tigers with 22 points, eight assists and four steals, while Mooriah Rowser chipped in 14 points. ECU shot 34-for-79 (.430) overall and 5-for-17 (.294) from three. Memphis shot 34-for-80 (.425) from the field and 6-for-18 (.333) beyond the perimeter. The Pirates outscored the Tigers, 52-40, in the paint, but Memphis owned a 20-11 advantage scoring off turnovers and 16-8 edge on the fast break.
ANOTHER MACY MILESTONE
Sixth-year Head Coach Heather Macy collected victory No. 100 at ECU on Friday, Nov. 27 in the 80-62 victory over Eastern Washington at the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas. Following win No. 105 at Cincinnati on Feb. 24, Macy is just tied for third place with Cathy Andruzzi in East Carolina history and stands five behind Catherine Bolton and 21 away from Sharon Baldwin-Tener for the top two spots in program history.
TAYLOR ON THE BOARDS
I'Tiana Taylor has pulled down 297 rebounds in just 28 games in 2015-16 which ranks as the second-most in a single season at ECU. With just three more, she can become only the second player in program history to grab 300 in a year and first since Rosie Thompson had 358 in 1978-79. Taylor's average of 10.6 per contest would stand as the third-highest average in a season and make her just the fourth Pirate to average double-digit rebounds.
PAYNE NAMED TO DAWN STALEY AWARD WATCH LIST
Jada Payne was one of just 16 players to be named to the 2016 Dawn Staley Award Mid-Season Watch List on Jan. 28. The award recognizes the nation's best guard in Women's Division I college basketball, exemplified by skills that Staley possessed: ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute and will to win.
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 1,936-career points. With 64 more during her senior campaign, she will eclipse 2,000 for her career.
1. Rosie Thompson (1975-80) 2,352
2. Mary Denkler (1979-83) 1,789
3. Jada Payne (2013-pres.) 1,664
4. LaCoya Terry (2005-09) 1,648
5. Jasmine Young (2005-09) 1,591
6. Debbie Freeman (1974-78) 1,570
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
TAYLOR'S TALE
I'Tiana Taylor has posted 10 double-doubles in ECU's 16 conference games this season and has 15 total. In league play, Taylor is averaging 13.6 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor.
I.T.'s 20/15 VISION
I'Tiana Taylor has had a handful of monster performances this season, four of which resulted in her scoring at least 20 points and grabbing 15 or more rebounds in the same game:
Nov. 28 vs. Northwestern 27 points/17 rebounds
Jan. 14 vs. Houston 21 points/16 rebounds
Jan. 20 vs. Cincinnati 24 points/19 rebounds
Feb. 13 vs. Memphis 22 points/19 rebounds
DOUBLE-DOUBLE BUBBLE
East Carolina has had at least one player record a double-double in all but four 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. The Pirates have compiled 30 double-doubles across 23 different games: I'Tiana Taylor (15); Jada Payne (11); Marina Laramie (4).
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 also been named five times (Dec. 7, Dec. 21, Jan. 18, Jan. 25 and Feb. 22).
