ECU Hosts Hampton On Education Day

Thursday, November 18

Greenville, N.C.

11 A.M.

East Carolina University

Hampton

Photo by: Andrew Yates

November 17, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Game 4: Hampton (1-2) at East Carolina (1-2)
The Game	November 18 \\\ 11 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Live
Venue	Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
Information	ECU Notes
2021-22 Statistics	East Carolina
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – It will be Pirate against Pirate as the East Carolina women's basketball team takes on Hampton on Thursday morning for the team's annual Education Day.

East Carolina (1-2) trailed at the half against Gardner-Webb, but outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 53-23 in the second half to surge to an 81-52 victory on Monday night. Danae McNeal stuffed the stat sheet for the Pirates, setting new career-highs in points (23), assists (five) and steals (three) while also adding four rebounds and a block. Taniyah Thompson had 21 points of her own, the second straight game breaking the 20-point barrier while Raven Johnson reached double-figures with 11 points. McNeal and Thompson were the first pair of Pirate teammates to reach 20 points in the same game since Johnson and Lashonda Monk did so against Wake Forest on Nov. 24, 2018.

The Pirates handed out 22 assists on 31 made field goals, the most assists for a Pirate squad since getting 23 against Houston on Jan. 20, 2018. McNeal and Da'Ja Green were the two most frequent providers, each handing out five dimes while Alexsia Rose had four assists of her own. The 31 Pirate points in the third quarter were the most in any quarter since East Carolina scored 31 points against Tulsa on Jan. 31, 2017.

Thompson currently leads the team in scoring with 20.0 points while McNeal is averaging 11.7. After hauling in a career-high eight rebounds against Gardner-Webb, Morgan Moseley leads East Carolina with 5.7 boards per game. Rebounding has been a team effort as including Moseley, five different Pirates are hauling in at least four rebounds each night. As a team, the Pirates forced 29 Gardner-Webb turnovers and are currently 40th in the country in turnovers forced (24.33) and 29th in total steals (31).

Hampton (1-2) is yet to play a close game, with its only win of the year coming by 15 points, 51-36 at Delaware State, as well as losing by 20-plus at Columbia (78-56) and against Richmond (96-47). Nylah Young leads the Pirates in both scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg) and she has taken 22 free throws, making 17 of them. Madison Buford is the other Hampton player scoring in double-figures, averaging 13.3 points. The Pirates have struggled to shoot, shooting just 49-of-178 (.275) from the floor and 9-of-51 (.176) from beyond the arc. They have also fallen behind early, getting outscored 82-42 in the first quarter and 154-92 in the first half.

East Carolina is 5-2 all-time in the battle of the Pirates, but this will be the first meeting since 2012. Hampton has the last two victories in the matchup though, winning in Hampton in 2012 and leaving Minges Coliseum victorious in 2010. It will be the third straight matchup against a Big South opponent for East Carolina. The Pirates are 1-1 in those contests, beating Gardner-Webb and falling at High Point. ECU is 3-1 all-time against Big South opponents since Kim McNeill took over as head coach.

Education Day will return this season after being cancelled a year ago due to Covid-19. The past two editions of Education Day have seen some exciting games. In 2019, 6,509 students from Pitt County watched a late Pirate rally fall just short in a 68-66 loss to Middle Tennessee. The 2018 edition saw 6,276 fans pack Minges as a three-pointer from Justice Gee lifted East Carolina to a 66-63 win over Liberty. The Pirates are 5-1 all-time on Education Day, winning the first five before losing to Middle Tennessee.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m., and fans can buy tickets here. Pirate Nation can also watch the game on ESPN+ with Patrick Kinas and Brittany Hoyt on the call as well as follow the live stats here.