Gameday: Pirates Return To Action At Duke

Friday, December 28

Durham, NC

7 PM

East Carolina University

Duke University

Photo by: Rob Taylor

December 27, 2018 | Women's Basketball

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Game 12: ECU (9-2) vs. Duke (6-4)
Date	Friday, Dec. 28
Time	7 p.m. (EST)
Location	Durham, N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats \ Listen \ ACC Network Extra
Information	ECU Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWomensHoops Instagram: @ECUWomensHoops Facebook: ECU Women's Basketball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Off to one of the best starts in program history, the ECU women's basketball team will try to knock off another ACC team when the Pirates take on Duke on Friday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

ECU (9-2) comes into Durham with a 9-2 record, just the seventh time in program history that the Pirates have won nine of their first 11 games. ECU is riding a four-game winning streak and is coming off beating Longwood and South Carolina State at the Carolina Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Pirates had five different players score in double figures in the two wins. Lashonda Monk led ECU with 13 points in the win over Longwood while Jade Lewis added 10. Raven Johnson had 19 in the win over South Carolina State and Ariyana Williams (18 points) and Necole Hope (10 points) both had season-high totals. It will also mark the debut for Nicole Mealing as acting head coach, as she takes over for interim head coach Chad Killinger during his leave of absence.

Johnson is the team's leading scorer (13.6 ppg) and rebounder (6.8 rpg) so far this season. Johnson already has a career-high total in assists (24), three-pointers (13) and free throws (37). Monk is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points and leads the team with 37 assists and 42 steals. Her 3.8 steals per game leads the American conference and is seventh in the country. Destiny Campbell is the team's leader in blocked shots, with 18 and is third in the AAC.

Duke (6-4) comes into the game with a ten-day layoff after losing at Oregon State. The Blue Devils have yet to lose in Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, going 3-0 there, including wins over Marist and UNLV in the month of December. Haley Gorecki and Leonna Odom have been the top two offensive forces for Duke, averaging 16.7 and 16.0 points, respectively, this season. Mikayla Boykin has provided a spark off the bench in the past two games, averaging 10.5 points. Gorecki and Miela Goodchild are the top shooters, hitting 20 and 19 three-point field goals each, with Goodchild shooting 47.5% from behind the arc.

ECU leads the all-time series between the two schools 9-6, but have not played the Blue Devils since 2002. The Pirates won nine of the first ten matchups between the programs, but have lost the last five, including a 108-46 loss in 2002. ECU is 2-4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Pirates are 37-74 all-time against ACC opponents, including a 70-61 win over Wake Forest earlier this season. The last time ECU beat consecutive ACC opponents was when the Pirates beat the Demon Deacons during both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., on Friday night. Fans can stream the match on ACC Network Extra or follow along with the live stats here.