UCF Charges Past the Pirates in Orlando

Saturday, February 18

Orlando, FLA

2 PM

East Carolina University

10-17, 1-13AAC

UCF

17-9, 7-6AAC

ECU

UCF

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

February 18, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Orlando, Fla. – East Carolina lost its 13th American Athletic Conference match of the season to UCF (17-9), 79-51, inside the CFE Arena Saturday. Khadidja Toure scored a team-best 20 points while Aliyah Gregory led all scorers with 27 points.

UCF took an early lead and never turned back. The Pirates trailed by as many as 32 points in the game and were in a 19-poinit deficit at halftime. The Pirates shot 33.9 percent from the field in the loss and were outrebounded 45-26. UCF had three players score in double figures and averaged 46.3 percent from field goal range in the game.

Toure connected on five three-pointers contributing to her 20 points, tying a career-best made baskets from behind the arc. In her first career-start, Justice Gee scored six points and had a team-best six rebounds. Her opening trey gave the Pirates their only lead of the game, 3-2, at 8:44. Dominique Claytor matched Gee's rebounds with six boards of her own.

Head Coach Heather Macy

Opening Statement:
"I am real disappointed in the fact that we have allowed our inability to score the basket to affect how we defend it. That's the nature of basketball and I've always prided myself that our teams didn't allow that to happen from a mental toughness standpoint. You can't hang your hats on how you shoot the ball. That varies in and out every night. Non-negotiable our team has been defending and rebounding but for whatever reason we have not responded to that charge."

On Khadidja Toure's 20-point Performance:
"Well she played hard for us. We have talked about how we have less than a handful of games left to play and you get to see who's going to be disappointed the last time they take that jersey off. All of us that have played know when you get to the final time of your career it hurts, so I appreciate what she is doing as her career comes to an end."

On Justice Gee's First Collegiate Start:
"She played her tail off and responded to when we put her in the starting lineup tonight and give her an opportunity. She played so many minutes because she is able to move over to the wing for us and hit a three. She's been working so hard so I am glad to see her experiencing some success."

On Alex Frazier Hangin' Tough:
"What I would like to say is that Alex Frazier played tough tonight. We needed some 50/50 balls and some toughness plays and I thought Alex exhibited incredible amounts of toughness."

On The Little Mistakes in the Game:
"I love them, but bless us. We do some wild stuff sometimes and you have to get out there and make a mistake sometimes. I just wish it wasn't when we were losing. I love the future of this team and to coach these kids every day. They have got to understand that we built something here and this is not how we play at East Carolina."

First Quarter
UCF scored first but a trey by Justice Gee at 8:44 gave the Pirates their only lead of the game. UCF led by eight with three minutes to go but Bre McDonald hit a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 16-9, with 2:45 to play. The Knights had maintained a 24-9 lead with just over a minute to play but Khadidja Toure hit back-to-back three-pointers for East Carolina t trail 26-15 at the buzzer. UCF shot 57.9 percent from the field in the first quarter and was perfect from behind the arc (3-for-3). Despite shooting 27.8 percent from the floor, the Pirates were 57.1 percent (4-for-7) from downtown.

Second Quarter
The Knights maintained a double-figure lead throughout the entire period. UCF pulled ahead by as many as 23 with 2:20 to play in the quarter. The Pirates improved to shoot 33.3 percent from the field in the quarter but carried a 19-point deficit into halftime with UCF in front 45-26. Toure led the Purple and Gold with nine points in the first half while UCF's Aliyah Gregory led all scorers with 17 points.

Third Quarter
The Pirates cut the deficit to 16 points halfway through the third quarter but UCF pulled ahead 53-30. Toure drained a trey in the corner to make it a 20-point game, 53-33 with 5:45 to go in the quarter. At the media timeout, the Knights held a 55-33 lead with 4:35 to play in the frame. A pair of threes by Toure followed by a layup from Gee made it 60-41 with less than two minutes on the clock.

Fourth Quarter
ECU trailed by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter with 4:49 to play in regulation. Toure fouled out with over seven minutes to play, leaving the Pirates without their leading scorer. East Carolina had its lowest scoring quarter in the final frame but shot its best from the field, 42.9 percent, through the last ten minutes. UCF had had its worst offensive quarter of the game shooting just 28.6 percent from the field.

Up Next
East Carolina returns home for the final time this season Wednesday when the Pirates host Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Prior to tip-off ECU will honor its six seniors.