Pirates Open AAC Play At UCF

Game 14: ECU (3-10, 0-0 AAC) at UCF (8-4, 0-0 AAC)
Date	Sunday, January 5
Time	12 p.m. (EST)
Location	Orlando, Fla. (Addition Financial Arena)
Coverage	Live Stats \ Watch
Information	ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWomensHoops Instagram: @ECUWomensHoops Facebook: ECU Women's Basketball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – With the calendar turned to 2020, the ECU women's basketball team will embark on the conference portion of its schedule, starting with a Sunday matinee at UCF.

ECU (3-10) finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a loss at SEC foe Georgia. Lashonda Monk continues to lead the Pirates in scoring, averaging 14.0 points, including a team-high 16 at Georgia. Monk has also been one of the best defensive players in the nation. She is eight in the NCAA in steals, already grabbing 47 this year, which gives her 238 for her career, the fourth-highest total in program history. Right behind her is Dominique Claytor, who has racked up 40 steals of her own to place 16th in the nation. Claytor has been ECU's top rebounder over the past month, as she is averaging 6.4 rebounds over the past seven games. She grabbed a 10 rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive end, against Georgia. Taniyah Thompson is ECU's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.4 points and she leads the team with a .333 shooting percentage from beyond the three-point arc, including a 6-of-8 (.750) effort against Dayton. Necole Hope has also began to heat up on the offensive end, as she is averaging 10.0 points and shooting .403 from the field over the last six games. As a team, the Pirates are third in the NCAA in both steals per game (13.6) and turnovers forced per game (25.08) as well as fourth in total steals (177) and turnover margin (+9.23). The Pirates have struggled on the boards, ranking 340th in rebounding margin (-10.2), but did grab a season-high 41 rebounds against the Bulldogs.

UCF (8-4) is coming off a season that saw the Knights reach the NCAA Tournament and return AAC Co-Preseason Player of the Year Kay Kay Wright. The Knights started slow, with a 4-4 record after eight games, but have won four straight and are 7-0 at home this season. Wright is the only Knight scoring in double-figures, averaging 15.5 points, which puts her eighth in the AAC. She also leads UCF with 42 assists, which is sixth in the league. Behind Wright, four players average between 9.2 and 8.2 points. One of those is Masseny Kaba, who grabs 6.2 rebounds to lead the team. As a team, the Knights are allowing just 56.8 points per game, which is second in the AAC. A big part of that defensive effort is forcing turnovers, as the 21.0 turnovers that UCF forces trails just ECU in the conference. Much like the Pirates, the Knights have not been as strong on the boards, ranking 302nd in the country in rebounds per game.

ECU has a slight 12-9 lead in the all-time series between the two schools, but has lost four straight against the Knights. Last season, the two programs met in Greenville and UCF earned a 61-58 overtime win despite a career-high 27 points from Monk. Since joining the AAC, ECU is just 2-4 against UCF, with wins in 2015 and 2016. In Orlando, ECU has a 4-7 record. The four consecutive wins by UCF is the longest winning streak for the Knights in the series, while ECU has won at least five straight against UCF on a pair of occasions. Sunday will be the second consecutive year that ECU has started AAC play on the road, with the Pirates losing at Tulane last year. The Pirates are still looking to start AAC play with a 1-0 conference record, as ECU is 0-5 in league openers since joining in 2014-15. The last win in a conference opener for ECU was back in the 2013-14 season when the Pirates topped Florida Atlantic to start the Conference USA slate.

Tipoff is scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday afternoon. Fans can watch the game on CBS Sports Network and can follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Claytor

Necole Hope

Lashonda Monk

Taniyah Thompson

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