Pirates Welcome Cincinnati To Minges

Game 17: Cincinnati (7-8, 0-3 AAC) at East Carolina (7-9, 0-3 AAC)
The Game	January 16 \\\ 1 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Live
Venue	Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
2021-22 Statistics	East Carolina \| Cincinnati
Information	Tickets \| ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Coming off a tough road trip, the East Carolina women's basketball team will try to regroup when the Pirates host Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon for the program's annual Alumni Day.

ECU (7-9, 0-3 AAC) is coming off a two-game road trip that saw the Pirates fall behind early in both games and see second-half comebacks come up short. The most recent setback was a 60-49 loss at SMU on Thursday afternoon. Taniyah Thompson led the Pirates in scoring with 15 points. It was the seventh straight game with at least 10 points for Thompson, who is now averaging 17.2 points per game, second in the AAC. Joining Thompson in double-figures was Da'Ja Green, who finished with 11 points. It was the fourth double-figure scoring effort for Green this season, who is now third on the team in scoring with 5.8 points per game. Tylar Bennett led the Pirates in rebounding for the second straight game, hauling in eight rebounds and the graduate student is averaging 9.0 rebounds in AAC contests.

Thompson has now scored in double-figures in 14 of 16 games this season and the junior guard is currently riding a seven game streak of at least 10 points, the longest since Lashonda Monk went nine straight a season ago. Thompson is also first in the AAC in total points, with 276 and is at 951 career points, leaving her 49 points shy of becoming the 24th player in East Carolina history to reach 1,000 career points. Thompson also has 93 career three-pointers, leaving her seven away from becoming the 11th Pirate with 100 made triples and 10 away from tying Kristine Mail for tenth all-time. Bennett added two more blocks against SMU to give her 24 on the season, including 11 in three AAC games. Bennett is now second in the AAC in blocked shots this season while Tiara Chambers is third with 21.

Like East Carolina, Cincinnati (7-8, 0-3 AAC) is looking for its first league victory of the season. The Bearcats have dropped three straight AAC home games, most recently falling to Wichita State 76-66. Cincinnati is led by Akira Levy, who averages a team-high 34.2 minutes, 13.7 points and 5.9 assists. Levy leads the AAC in assists with 88 and is also second in steals with 37. Jillian Hayes leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game and she is third in the AAC in blocked shots with 21. As a team, Cincinnati is 36th in the country and second in the AAC with 69 rejections. The Bearcats are also in the top-100 of the country in free throws made, ranking 61st overall and first in the AAC with 193.

East Carolina holds a slim 10-9 margin in the all-time series after the two schools split a pair of games last season. The Pirates won on the road in December before the Bearcats answered with a road win of their own in February. East Carolina has struggled at home against Cincinnati recently, having not beaten the Bearcats in Minges Coliseum since January 2017 and is just 5-4 at home in the series.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., on Sunday afternoon with Patrick Kinas and Brittany Hoyt on the call for ESPN+. Fans can buy tickets here or follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Tylar Bennett

Tiara Chambers

Da'Ja Green

Lashonda Monk

Taniyah Thompson

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