Pirates Prepare For Matchup With Temple

Game 26: Temple (15-10, 7-5 AAC) at ECU (7-18, 4-8 AAC)
Date	Saturday, February 22
Time	1 p.m. (EST)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Coverage	Live Stats \ Watch \ Listen \ Tickets
Information	ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWomensHoops Instagram: @ECUWomensHoops Facebook: ECU Women's Basketball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – In the midst of playing its best basketball of the season, the ECU women's basketball team will host Temple on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.

ECU (7-18, 4-8) has seemingly turned a corner lately, winning four of its past six games and the last three played inside Minges Coliseum. The Pirates are on a two-game winning streak, the last a 59-42 win over Tulsa. In that win, Lashonda Monk finished with a team-high 17 points, five assists and nine steals. It was third career game of at least nine steals for the junior guard, a feat that had been accomplished only five times in ECU history before she stepped in campus. It also gave Monk 293 career steals, passing Toina Coley for the ECU record. Dominique Claytor finished with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. ECU is 5-1 this season when Claytor scores in double-figures, something she has done in all four wins during this 4-2 stretch. Taniyah Thompson is second on the team in scoring, her 13.4 points trailing only Monk's average of 14.2, and leads all AAC rookies in scoring, steals (2.0) and minutes played (34.6). As a team, ECU is second in the country in steals (345), steals per game (13.8) and turnovers forced per game (24.6) as well as fifth in turnover margin (+8.24). The Pirates have a chance to break the ECU record for steals in a season, 388 set by the 2011-12 team, and turnovers forced, 760 set by the 1979-80 squad.

Temple (15-10, 7-5) has also won two in a row, beating Houston and Memphis at home. The Owls are 2-3 on the road in conference play, winning their first two and losing the past three. Mia Davis is near the top of the conference in a variety of categories. The junior forward leads the league in scoring (19.1), rebounding (10.3), free throws made (106), and double-doubles. Ashley Jones is fifth in the AAC in scoring, averaging 16.9 points while Marissa Mackins is 13th with an average of 13.4. Asonah Alexander is third in the conference in assists, handing out 4.3 per game while Jones is right behind her with 4.2. The Owls are especially deadly from beyond the three-point arc. Mackins is second in the conference, making 2.7 per game, Jones ranks ninth with 1.7 and Lena Niang is 14th, making 1.6. As a team, Temple is the opposite of ECU where the Owls struggle to turn opponents over. Temple ranks 346th in the country in steals per game, averaging just 4.4 and 343rd in turnovers forced with 11.3 per game.

Temple has had a stranglehold on the series between the two schools, winning six of the seven matchups. ECU's only win in the series came in the AAC Championship Quarterfinals in 2015. Temple has won five straight against the Pirates since, the most recent an 84-62 win last year in Philadelphia. The last time Temple came to Greenville, in February of 2018, was the only time ECU has come close to beating the Owls during the losing streak. In that contest, Monk had her second career double-double, but a Temple free throw with six seconds left gave Temple a 65-64 win. It was the third straight win in Minges Coliseum for Temple.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., on Saturday afternoon. It will be ECU's Play 4 Kay game and the first 600 fans will receive a pink ECU t-shirt. Those who cannot make it to Minges Coliseum can stream the game here or follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Claytor

Lashonda Monk

Taniyah Thompson

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