Pirates Prep For Test Against Temple

Game 18: Temple (7-6, 2-0 AAC) at East Carolina (8-9, 1-3 AAC)
The Game	January 19 \\\ 6 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Live
Venue	Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
2021-22 Statistics	East Carolina \| Temple
Information	Tickets \| ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Coming off its first AAC win of the season, the East Carolina women's basketball team will have another test when Temple comes to Minges Coliseum for a Wednesday night battle.

East Carolina (8-9, 1-3 AAC) returned home after losing a pair of games on the road and got its first conference win thanks to bounce back defensive effort. The Pirates turned Cincinnati over 31 times and scored 30 points off those Bearcat miscues in a 71-48 victory. Raven Johnson grabbed the headlines as the graduate student led all scorers with 22 points, just two off her career-high. It was Johnson's first 20-point performance since Nov. 24, 2018 and the fourth of her career. Johnson was one of four Pirates to score in double-figures, as Taniyah Thompson (13), Alexsia Rose (12) and Morgan Moseley (11) all cracked the 10-point barrier. It was only the second time this season that ECU had four players reach double-figures in the same game, as Thompson, Raven Johnson, Tiara Chambers and Da'Ja Green all scored at least 10 points against Hampton.

Whenever the Pirates were not turning over the Bearcats, it seemed like Tylar Bennett was there to erase a Cincinnati shot. Bennett finished with six blocks, becoming just the second ECU player to have multiple six block games in their career. The graduate student now leads the AAC with 30 blocked shots, including 17 in the team's four AAC games. Thompson leads the AAC with 289 points and is just 36 away from becoming the 24th player in ECU history to reach 1,000 career points. Thompson has scored at least 10 points in eight straight games, the longest streak since Lashonda Monk went nine straight last season, and in 15 of 17 games this season. As a team, the Pirates have moved into the top-10 of the country in turnovers forced, averaging 23.29, and are sixth in steals with 204. Rose leads the team with 34 steals and is fifth in the AAC while Thompson is at 29 steals. The Pirates lead the AAC in blocked shots, with Bennett ranking first while Chambers is fifth with 21 rejections of her own. Finally, ECU is 22nd in the country and first in the AAC in free throw attempts with 330. The Pirates are coming off shooting 20-of-29 at the line against the Bearcats, the eighth time this season that ECU has shot at least 20 free throws.

Temple (7-6, 2-0 AAC) is off to a perfect start in the league after beating Cincinnati and Houston. That was a stark contrast from the Owls' finish to 2021 as Temple lost three straight to close out its nonconference schedule. The turnaround has been fueled by AAC Preseason Player of the Year Mia Davis, who has taken her game up a notch since the calendar turned to 2022. Davis is averaging 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the two AAC victories, all up from her already lofty season averages of 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Alexa Williamson has been a strong supporting act to Davis, averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while blocking seven shots in the two AAC contests. On the season, Williamson is at 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds as well as ranking fifth in the league in blocked shots per game with 1.46. As a team, Temple leads the AAC in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 27.7% shooting from beyond the arc as well as tanking in the top-70 of the country in overall field goal defense, limiting opponents to 36.9% shooting from the floor.

Temple has dominated the all-time series between the two programs, with the Pirates holding just a 3-9 record against the Owls, including 1-3 since Kim McNeill took over prior to the 2019-20 campaign. East Carolina has dropped three straight against Temple since winning a thrilling 56-50 contest in Feb. 2020 that saw the Pirates rally from a 17-point deficit and outscore the Owls 23-10 in the fourth quarter. That was the first time Temple left Minges Coliseum with a loss and East Carolina is now 1-4 when hosting the Owls after Temple took a 66-57 win a year ago, half of a season sweep by the Owls.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., on Wednesday night and fans can buy tickets here. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Debbie Taylor and Patrick Kinas on the call.

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Players Mentioned

Tylar Bennett

Tiara Chambers

Da'Ja Green

Raven Johnson

Lashonda Monk

Morgan Moseley

Alexsia Rose

Taniyah Thompson

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