Pirates Welcome Wichita State To Greenville

Game 16: Wichita State (8-7, 0-2 AAC) at ECU (3-12, 0-2 AAC)
Date	Sunday, January 12
Time	1 p.m. (EST)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Coverage	Live Stats \ Watch \ Tickets \ Listen
Information	ECU Notes \ Wichita State Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWomensHoops Instagram: @ECUWomensHoops Facebook: ECU Women's Basketball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After a close loss, the ECU women's basketball team will get another chance to get its first conference win of the season as the Pirates host Wichita State on Sunday afternoon.

ECU (3-12, 0-2 AAC) tried to rally late, but fell short against SMU in its conference home opener. Lashonda Monk broke the 20-point barrier for the second consecutive game and for the fifth time this season, finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds and a career-high two blocks. The Greensboro, N.C., native leads the team in scoring and is seventh in the AAC, averaging 15.1 points. Monk also added four steals and continues to creep closer and closer to the ECU record. She has 59 steals this season, a total that leads the AAC and is third in the nation, as well as 250 for her career, putting her 15 shy of second all-time at ECU and 43 short of the school record. Monk is not the only one racking up the steals, as Dominique Claytor is 15th in the NCAA and second in the AAC with 45 steals of her own. Taniyah Thompson continues to lead all AAC rookies in scoring, averaging 11.5 points. As a group, ECU's four freshmen (Thompson, Xianna Josephs, Katerina Tsineke and Ryann Evans) all started against SMU, the first time since 2001 four freshmen have started for ECU, and are averaging a combined 93.0 minutes, 24.6 points and 10.7 rebounds.

Like ECU, Wichita State (8-7, 0-2 AAC) is still looking for its first conference win. The Shockers fell at No. 1 UConn before losing a close game against Tulane. Mariah McCully leads Wichita State in scoring, averaging 12.9 points in just 24.8 minutes. After scoring less than 10 points in three of the first four games this season, McCully has hit at least 10 points in the past nine contests. McCully is third in the AAC, behind Monk and Claytor in steals per game, averaging 2.38 takeaways. Carla Bremaud leads Wichita State in assists, racking up 44 dimes and is second in rebounding (5.1 rpg), trailing only Shyia Smith (5.6 rpg). As a team, the Shockers are one of the best teams in the country at getting to the free throw line, ranking tenth in free throw attempts (339) and ninth in free throws made (230). Wichita State trails just ECU in the AAC in steals (156) and steals per game (10.4) and are also in the top-50 in the nation in both turnover margin (50th, 4.00) and turnovers forced per game (27th, 21.0). The Pirates will try to take advantage of the three-point line, with Wichita State ranking 327th in the NCAA in three-point defense, allowing opponents to hit 35.9% of their attempts from deep.

ECU leads the series of the slimmest of margins, having won two of the three matchups since the Shockers moved to the AAC in the 2017-18 season. Last season, the two teams split a pair of meetings and each team won on their home court. In ECU's home opener, Monk knocked down a career-high four three's on the way to a game-high 23 points and the Pirates used a 30-12 third quarter to pull away for a 78-56 win. The Shockers got revenge just 20 days later, holding ECU to 25.8% shooting and winning 57-47. That was the only time the two schools have met in Kansas. In 2018, ECU hosted Wichita State and won 77-67 as Monk had 19 points, seven assists and four steals.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., on Sunday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. Fans can watch the game on the American Digital Network or follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Claytor

Ryann Evans

Xianna Josephs

Lashonda Monk

Taniyah Thompson

Katerina Tsineke

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