GAMEDAY PREVIEW: East Carolina vs. Houston

Game 23: East Carolina vs. Houston
Date	Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017
Time	4:30 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum)
Coverage	Live Stats \\\ Watch Live \\\ WZMB Radio \\\ East Carolina Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUWomensHoops \\\ #ECUndaunted \\\ #2FTN

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina (10-12, 1-8 AAC) looks to snap a six-game losing streak Saturday afternoon when the Pirates host Houston (8-14, 1-8 AAC) at 4:30 p.m. in Minges Coliseum. The Pirates and Cougars currently sit 10th and 11th in the league, respectively.

ECU is coming off a 100-92 overtime road loss to Tulsa Tuesday night while Houston has lost eight straight games after winning its league opener 71-66 over Tulsa on January 1. Khadidja Toure matched her career-high with 25 points against Tulsa while Kristen Gaffney and Bre McDonald both logged double-double performances, the first time two Pirates have done so in the same game since Marina Laramie and I'Tiana Taylor on February 24, 2016.

The Pirates average 63.2 points per game good for eighth in the league while Houston in ninth with 60.4 points per game. East Carolina ranks fifth in field goal percentage (.408) and is third in three-point field goal defense (.288) while Houston is fourth in steals per game (9.0) and leads the AAC in turnovers per game with 20.1.

Scouting the Cougars
Houston enters Saturday's matchup 8-14 overall and 1-8 in the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars currently ride the longest losing streak in the AAC with eight-straight losses after winning their league opener 71-66 over Tulsa. The Cougars are led by Jasmyne Harris who is averaging 11.3 points per game and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. Houston is shooting 37.1 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot 40.2 percent from the field, both rank at the bottom of the American Conference statistical standings. The Cougars rank third in the league in offensive rebounds per game (14.5) but are ninth in defensive rebounds (24.2). Houston is 3-8 away from Hofheinz Pavilion this season. The Cougars last road victory was at UTSA December 19 when UH won 56-49.

The Series
Houston leads the all-time series 9-7 but the Pirates are 7-1 against Houston under head coach Heather Macy and have won the last six meetings. The Purple and Gold is 3-3 all-time at home against UH, with all three wins coming under the direction of Macy. In the last meeting, ECU defeated Houston 68-59 in Houston.

Last Time Out (Jan. 31)
Khadidja Toure matched her career best with a 25-point performance in East Carolina's 100-92 loss on the road at Tulsa Tuesday night. The Pirates committed a season-low nine turnovers in the loss and put three players in double figures offensively. Bre McDonald had her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Kristen Gaffney was second on the team in scoring with 24 points and 11 rebounds, nine offensive, for a double-double of her own.

The Pirates forced overtime with a buzzer beater from Toure at the end of regulation but Tulsa outscored the Purple and Gold 18-10 in the extra period for the 100-92 win. Kendrian Elliott led all scorers with 27 points and 13 rebounds while Liesl Spoerl had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Tulsa's second double-double. East Carolina shot 39.8 percent from the field in the loss and 38.9 percent from behind the arc (7-for18). Tulsa shot 50.8 percent from the field and out-rebounded ECU 49-43.

Macy Ascending On ECU All-Time Coaching Wins List
Heather Macy now owns the second-most wins by a head coach in program history. With 11 more victories, she will surpass Sharon Baldwin-Tener (2002-10), who tops the list with 127.

Holston Nominated for NABC Good Works Team
Holston was named a nominee for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team. The Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport.

Bannister Comes Up Clutch
East Carolina played in some tight games early on this season, building a 4-0 record when the margin of victory is five points or less. Redshirt senior guard Antoinette Bannister was a big reason for this success as she drained some big shots for the Purple and Gold. She canned a triple with eight seconds left against Detroit to send the game into overtime before hitting three free throws with 10 seconds on the clock versus Marist to give ECU the win by two points. Bannister also nailed a huge three with two seconds remaining against Ball State to force overtime as East Carolina out-scored the Cardinals 19-6 in the extra period. Most recently, Bannister banked a trey with 15 seconds left in regulation against SMU marking the fourth time this season she has netted the game-winning point for ECU.

Educate Me
This year's Education Day brought a crowd of 4,958 to Minges Coliseum. That number stands as the second highest in facility history for a women's basketball game.

1. Nov. 20, 2015 - 5,408 vs. Presbyterian
2. Nov. 15, 2016 - 4,958 vs. UNC Wilmington
3. Dec. 31, 2014 - 4,706 vs. Connecticut

Pirates in the Community
ECU Women's Basketball players have logged more than 650 hours of community service so far this year and have accumulated over 500 hours each of the last several seasons. They have put in time at the Cypress Glen Retirement Community, The Boys and Girls Club of Pitt County and Elmhurst Elementary School among many others. ECU spent time helping to pack 7,000 meals at Peace Presbyterian Church on Monday in conjunction with the nation-wide MLK Day of Service.

Three Me
The loss at Temple snapped a 218-game streak of that East Carolina made at least one three-point basket. Prior to Temple, the last time the Pirates did not make at least one was Feb. 6, 2010 at UCF. The Pirates have now made a trey in 223 of the last 224 games.

Pirates Picked Sixth in AAC Preseason Poll
ECU was picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference for the 2016-17 season according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Connecticut was chosen as the unanimous preseason favorite with 100 points, ahead of Temple in second place (87) and USF in third (86). Tulane accumulated 73 points for fourth place, while SMU rounded out the top five with 50. East Carolina received 49 points in the poll and was ranked ahead of Memphis (47), UCF (41), Tulsa (33), Cincinnati (23) and Houston (16).

Top-50 Signing Class Arrives
Freshmen Dominique Claytor, Alexis Cortez, Raven Johnson and junior Thais Oliveira, signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Pirates in November 2015, comprising the No. 49 overall class nationally, according to the Dan Olsen Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. The quartet marked ECU's first top-50 signing class in program history.

Up Next
East Carolina continues its three-game home stand with a Wednesday night matchup against USF. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Antoinette Bannister

Dominique Claytor

Alexis Cortez

Kristen Gaffney

Raven Johnson

Marina Laramie

Bre McDonald

Thais Oliveira

I'Tiana Taylor

Khadidja Toure

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