East Carolina Opens Home Slate Against Georgia

Game Three: Georgia at East Carolina
The Game	Dec. 3 vs. Georgia \\\ 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
Information	Game Notes \\\ Record Book \\\ 2020-21 Quick Facts
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ Georgia
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina opens its 2020-21 home slate Thursday evening, welcoming Georgia to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for a non-conference matchup. First tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The game will be streamed live via ESPN+ with Chris Edwards (play-by-play) and Debbie Taylor (analyst) on the call.

The Pirates (1-1) enter the contest with some momentum after knocking off Virginia 54-51 in Charlottesville Sunday. Sophomore guard Taniyah Thompson posted a game-high 19 points while junior forward Tiara Chambers posted her first career double-double with 11 points and a personal-best 13 rebounds (10 offensive). ECU's signature defense answered the bell once again, forcing 25 Cavalier turnovers and collecting 12 steals. Graduate guard Justice Gee nailed the game-winning three-point field goal with six seconds left, ensuring the Pirates' first road win over a "Power Five" institution since 2006 when East Carolina defeated Alabama 61-55 in Tuscaloosa.

Thompson is averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game while graduate guard Sierra DaCosta is right behind at 16.0 points per game. Additionally, Chambers is putting up 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per outing and graduate guard/forward Dominique Claytor has grabbed a team-best six steals.

The Pirates have won five straight inside Minges Coliseum with victories over Memphis, Houston, Tulsa, Temple and Tulane.

Scouting Georgia
Georgia enters Thursday's showdown with East Carolina having won its first two games of the campaign - an 83-64 victory at Mercer and a 75-69 overtime triumph at Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs are averaging 79 points and 40.5 rebounds per game, shooting at a .522 clip from the field. UGA is out-rebounding its opponents by right at five boards an outing, but are in the minus in turnover margin (-5.0). Jenna Staiti leads three Bulldog players who are averaging double figures in the scoring column. She is putting up 14.5 points per game as well as a team-high 7.5 rebounds a contest. Que Morrison checks in at 13.0 points per game while Javyn Nicholson is averaging 10.5. Joni Taylor is in her sixth season as the head coach at Georgia and owns a 100-58 record at the institution.

The Georgia Series
East Carolina and Georgia met just last season when the Bulldogs topped the Pirates 67-50 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Dec. 29. ECU is 2-3 against UGA in its history, last defeating the Bulldogs by a 91-76 margin Feb. 11, 1978 at a neutral site in Rock Hill, S.C. Thursday's contest marks the first appearance for the Bulldogs in Greenville.

Low Points
The Pirates limited Virginia to just two points in the first quarter Sunday. That marks the second time under head coach Kim McNeill that East Carolina has held an opponent to two points in a quarter - the other was the second stanza in a 59-42 win over Tulsa Feb. 19, 2020 at Minges Coliseum.

Creating Havoc
East Carolina ranked second nationally in steals and steals per game as well as third in turnovers forced last year. Early signs indicate that has little chance of changing this season as the Pirates have notched 29 takeaways and have exacted 49 turnovers.

Dazzling Debuts
DaCosta put together a huge debut in the Purple and Gold after sitting out last year due to NCAA student-athlete transfer rules. She scored 25 points and pulled down seven rebounds, both team highs, while hitting 10 of 12 shots at the free throw line. Freshman Synia Johnson also reached double figures in her first collegiate contest, notching 10 points to go along with three steals in 29 minutes.

Playing For A Century
Four Pirates are within striking distance of suiting up for their 100th career games in the Purple and Gold - Gee (94), Raven Johnson (93), Claytor (92) and Lashonda Monk (91).

Record Book Rewrite
Monk turned in a season to remember in 2019-20. Along with earning American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year laurels, she also garnered a spot on the AAC All-Conference Second Team. Monk is not only the first-ever ECU player to be named Defensive Player of the Year, regardless of conference, but is also the first non-UConn player to receive the award. She also became the third Pirate player to be named Second-Team All-AAC, joining I'Tiana Taylor (2015) and Jada Payne (2016), as well as the third East Carolina player to be named to multiple American all-conference teams (Taylor and Payne). Monk set numerous records last season with her prowess on the defensive end, ranking third in the country in both steals (121) and steals per game (4.17) as well as leading the AAC in both. She is the first ECU player with multiple nine-steal games in the same season, accomplishing the feat in wins over Tulsa and Tulane. Monk also not only broke the East Carolina career record for steals, but also the AAC standard, and now owns 316 for her career. Monk surpassed Toina Coley for the ECU single-season steals record (125) by swiping four in the conference tournament first-round loss to Temple. Her contributions were not limited just to the defensive side of the ball as she led ECU in scoring (14.9 points per game) while ranking ninth in the league. She increased her scoring average to 15.3 in conference contests while finishing tenth in the league in assists per game (3.6) and free throw percentage (.761).

Freshman Sensation
Thompson exploded onto the collegiate women's basketball scene during the 2019-20 campaign, earning unanimous selection to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team. She was one of the most productive scorers in the league regardless of class, finishing the regular season averaging 13.7 points per contest - good for 11th among the conference circuit and first in terms of AAC rookies. Thompson also led league freshmen in steals per game (1.9) and average minutes played per contest (34.7) while increasing her scoring average to 14.8 versus league opponents. Overall, she produced 19 double-digit scoring games and hit the 20-point mark on seven different occasions. Additionally, Thompson represented one of just three AAC freshmen to record a double-double, scoring 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds at Tulsa. She also became just the ninth ECU player to convert at least six three-pointers in a single game when she connected on six of eight attempts beyond the arc against Dayton.

Experience All Over
It's no secret that East Carolina was a young basketball squad in 2019-20. The Pirate starting lineup in a 55-47 setback to SMU on Jan. 8 featured four freshmen (Thompson, Josephs, Evans and Tsineke), marking the first time that has happened at ECU since 2001. This season, however, the roster is much more balanced as East Carolina boasts four graduate students, one senior, three juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen. Johnson and Gee, who have combined to play 185 games in their careers, are back after essentially missing the entire 2019-20 season with injuries. Additionally, Dacosta is eligible to suit up following three standout seasons for the University of Hartford. She earned 2017 America East Conference Rookie of the Year recognition in 2017 and followed up with 2019 All-America East Third-Team honors in 2019.

Claytor Steps Up
In the last nine games of the 2019-20 regular season, Claytor was a force as she averaged 10.8 and 8.4 rebounds per contest while producing three double-doubles. In six victories during the stretch, Claytor was even better - putting up 12.5 points and 9.3 boards a game. All told, the Pirates were 7-1 when she scored in double figures.

Up Next
East Carolina returns to action quickly after tussling with Georgia, making the short trip over to Durham Saturday for a noon tipoff against Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The non-conference affair will be streamed live via ACC Network Extra.

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Players Mentioned

Tiara Chambers

Dominique Claytor

Sierra DaCosta

Justice Gee

Raven Johnson

Synia Johnson

Lashonda Monk

Taniyah Thompson

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