Pirates Shake Off the Rust, Drub Elon, 68-37

Monday, November 6

Elon, NC

7 PM

East Carolina University

1-0,0-0AAC

Elon

0-1,0-0CAA

East Carolina

Elon

November 06, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The East Carolina women's basketball team opened the season with a decisive 68-37 victory over the Elon Phoenix on Monday night in the Schar Center. The Pirates were carried by a streaky performance, their signature defense and 16 second-half points from Danae McNeal.

The Pirates (1-0) got off to a sluggish start, perhaps to be expected in a season opener, but still managed to open up a seven-point lead after a quarter and a 13-point lead going into the halftime break. Making her collegiate debut, Karina Gordon acquitted herself quite well in the first half of the contest, leading all scorers with seven points in the first couple stanzas before working her way to a nine-point outing for the game.

In the third quarter, it was the Danae McNeal Show as the Pirates broke the game open. The game got away from the home side quickly in the second half with a rapid 12-0 run as the graduate captain connected on a trio of triples and made her mark with her signature defensive presence – she would go on to finish the game with a healthy four steals on the game, tied for the team lead with Synia Johnson.

As a team, the Pirates defended well, forcing 31 turnovers, 20 of them coming on turnovers, just missing the program top-10 list for single-game takeaways.

As was expected coming into the season, Amiya Joyner was very good – finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds. Also as expected, she didn't go it alone this time. Tatyana Wyche finished the game with 10 rebounds. Johnson and McNeal both had five. Morgan Moseley had four, and the Pirates outrebounded the Phoenix (0-1), though only by a 45-42 margin.

All 13 active Pirates saw game action on Monday, with Khia Miller, Jade Tillman and Jaedyn Cook all made their collegiate debuts alongside Gordon. Miller finished the game with five points and a pair of rebounds and steals while taking only four shots from the field.

Key Stats

37 points allowed for the game is the third fewest points allowed in a season opener in program history (24 in 1969, 35 in 2022)
Six three-point shots made by McNeal matches her career high and remains the second-highest total in a game in program history.
The Pirates were successful from the foul line, shooting 19-25 (.760). This was an area which plagued the team a season ago, averaging just .632 in 2022-23.

Up Next
The Pirates will be in Minges Coliseum for their home opener on Thursday at 6 p.m. against USC Upstate. Pirate fans should plan to be in their seats at 5:30 p.m. for the banner unveiling ceremony as the team commemorates its 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The first 500 fans in attendance will also receive a miniature replica banner.