Pirates Travel To Wichita State

Game 19: East Carolina (8-10, 1-4 AAC) at Wichita State (10-7, 1-3 AAC)
The Game	January 25 \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Live
Venue	Charles Koch Arena (Wichita, Kan.)
2021-22 Statistics	East Carolina \| Wichita State
Information	ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ TikTok \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After a weekend off to rest and recover, the East Carolina women's basketball team will travel to Wichita State for a Tuesday night meeting.

East Carolina (8-10, 1-4 AAC) split a pair of games last week, beating Cincinnati 71-48 before losing to Temple 56-41. Taniyah Thompson scored in double-figures in both games and she now has scored at least 10 points in nine straight games, the second-longest streak of her career. Thompson is second in the AAC in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game and needs 24 points to become the 24th player in East Carolina history to reach 1,000 career points. Thompson also has 94 career three-point field goals, leaving her nine away from tying Kristine Mail for tenth all-time at East Carolina. The Pirates had four other players set new or tie season-highs in points over those two games. Raven Johnson scored 22 points against Cincinnati, her first 20-point performance since Nov. 24, 2018 and just two off her career-high of 24. Alexsia Rose (12 points) and Morgan Moseley (11 points) both had career-highs against the Bearcats as well, giving East Carolina four players in double-figures for the second time this year. Tylar Bennett scored 10 points to go with 11 rebounds against Temple, a season-high in points for the graduate transfer as well as her first double-double as a Pirate.

Bennett started her Pirate career slow after transferring from Clemson prior to the season, but she has stepped her play up since starting AAC play. In five conference games, Bennett is averaging 5.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, blocked 19 shots and grabbed eight steals. Bennett is now leading the conference in rejections, with 32, putting her 14 away from tying Monique Pompili for tenth on the ECU single-season blocks list. Johnson has been the other Pirate who has seen significant increases in her stats since the calendar turned to 2022, as Johnson is averaging 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in the five AAC games compared to 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in the 13 nonconference games. As a team, the Pirates are tenth in the nation in steals, with 215, and tenth in turnovers forced with 23.28 per game, both of which lead the conference. East Carolina also leads the conference in free throw attempts, getting to the line 341 times, while ranking second in blocked shots (83) and offensive rebounds per game (16.1)

Wichita State (10-7, 1-3 AAC) has lost two straight and is looking to begin climbing up the AAC standings. The Shockers got their first AAC win thanks to a 76-66 victory at Cincinnati, but have dropped games against Memphis (50-49) and at Tulane (67-52) since. Mariah McCully is the only Shocker scoring in double-figures, averaging 12.3 points. Wichita State has five other players averaging between 9.9 and 8.0 points, including Jane Asinde who is scoring 9.9 points and grabbing 9.1 rebounds each night. That puts Asinde fourth in the AAC in rebounds while McCully is fourth in the league in steals, with 2.24 per game. As a team, the Shockers have been the best rebounding squad in the AAC, leading the AAC in rebounds per game (eighth in the NCAA, 44.88), offensive rebounds per game (tenth, 16.1 per game), rebounds (20th, 763) and rebounding margin (29th, +7.6). Wichita State is also in the top-75 of the country in field-goal percentage defense, checking in at third in the AAC and 72nd in the country by holding opponents to just 37.1 percent from the floor.

The all-time series between the two schools is knotted at 3-3 after East Carolina took a 74-59 home win last season. That victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pirates against the Shockers. East Carolina is still looking for its first win in Kansas, having lost each of its previous two trips to Wichita State.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., on Tuesday night at Wichita State's Charles Koch Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Tylar Bennett

Raven Johnson

Morgan Moseley

Alexsia Rose

Taniyah Thompson

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