Pirates Host Memphis In Home Finale

Game 20: Memphis at East Carolina
The Game	Feb. 27 \\\ 1:00 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 \\\ Memphis
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Fighting to hold on to a bye in the opening round of the AAC Championship, the ECU women's basketball team will take on Memphis on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.

ECU (7-12, 5-9 AAC) is coming off a loss to Cincinnati in the middle of the final three-game homestand of the season. The Pirates are currently 3-6 at home this season and will be trying to avoid finishing with just three wins in Minges Coliseum for the first time since going 3-3 in 1976-77. Finally, ECU will be trying to win in the final home game of the season for the third straight year.

Lashonda Monk leads the Pirates in scoring this season, averaging 14.1 points which ranks sixth in the AAC. The senior guard has an outside chance of finishing the season in the top-10 in career points at ECU. Monk has scored 1,315 points in her career and needs 51 to tie Sylvia Bragg for tenth place in ECU's record book. For much of the season, Monk has led the AAC in steals with Dominique Claytor right behind her. But after a career-high seven takeaways for Claytor against Cincinnati, Claytor now leads the league with 51 steals while Monk is right behind her with 49. Claytor is now 26th in the NCAA in steals while Monk is 17th in steals per game with 2.88. As a team, the Pirates check in at eighth in the country in steals (11.5) and tenth in turnovers forced (21.63).

Along with Monk, Taniyah Thompson is the other Pirate scoring in double-figures, averaging 11.7 points. Thompson has scored a combined 35 points in her past two games along with grabbing six steals. Sierra DaCosta is the third leading scorer for ECU, averaging 9.2 points. The Pirates have also been getting increasing contributions from rookies Synia Johnson and Alexsia Rose. Johnson has scored 20 points in the past two games, including a career-high 11 against Cincinnati and handed out a career-best six assists in the win over Wichita State. Rose set her own career-high with nine points in the first game against Memphis and added seven against the Shockers.

Scouting Memphis
The Tigers (4-11, 2-8 AAC) come into the weekend on a four-game losing streak which started with ECU getting a 67-53 win at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis saw its head coach Melissa McFerrin retire on Feb. 14 with associate head coach Michele Savage taking over as interim head coach. The Tigers are one of the best rebounding teams in the AAC, averaging 40.1 rebounds per game while allowing opponents to grab just 35.0. A big reason for that is Dulcy Mendjiadeu-Fan who is one of two players in the AAC averaging double-digit rebounds as she pulls in 11.3 rebounds. Mendijadeu-Fan is also in the top five in the conference in scoring, averaging 14.9 points. She finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting with the Pirates. Alana Davis is also scoring in double-figures, averaging 12.1 points.

The Memphis Series
East Carolina will be looking to sweep the season series for the second straight year against Memphis. The overall series is deadlocked at 17-17 and ECU has a chance to move above .500 against the Tigers since 2012. ECU can also win its fifth straight game against Memphis for the first time in the series. ECU is 11-4 at home against Memphis and has not lost in Minges since 2016.

Tipoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m., inside Minges Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Claytor

Sierra DaCosta

Synia Johnson

Lashonda Monk

Alexsia Rose

Taniyah Thompson

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