Monday, December 4
Greenville, N.C.
6:30 PM
East Carolina University
5-3,0-0AAC
72
vs
57
UMES
4-5,0-0MEAC
1
2
3
4
F
UMES
15
16
11
15
57
East Carolina
15
6
30
21
72
Pirates Smother Maryland Eastern Shore in Second Half, Win 72-57
December 04, 2023 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The American Athletic Conference might as well make Danae McNeal's second-straight Player of the Week graphic as she dropped 34 points to lead the East Carolina women's basketball team to a 72-57 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday night in Minges Coliseum. McNeal led three Pirates in double figures while snagging a quartet of steals in the contest.
The first half was one to forget for the Pirates (5-3) who looked a step slow and a touch off for the first 20 minutes of the game, going into the halftime break trailing by 10. Nothing went right for the team before the half, including a 16-6 second period letdown.
But then the Pirates woke up. The team forced 12 turnovers in the third quarter, and were keyed to a 19-0 run in the period by the entry of Bobbi Smith to the top of the team's vaunted pressure defense. Smith finished the day with a season-best eight points to go with three steals and was simply sensational in a defense which absolutely shut down the Eagles (4-5) and led to turnover after turnover, steal after steal, and fast break bucket after fast break bucket.
The Pirates would go on to force 31 turnovers as a team, 16 of which came off of steals, and scored 31 points off of those turnovers. The third prong on the defensive backcourt was Micah Dennis who had a tremendous game of her own. The senior put up 12 points and a career high of five steals, besting her previous high of four which she had done multiple times (including thrice at Oklahoma State).
The ECU backcourt does deserve a mention as well. Tatyana Wyche put up her third double-digit rebounding game at ECU with 10 while contributing six points, and Amiya Joyner had her best game of the season with 10 points, nine rebounds and a steals while proving a formidable presence down low.
The star of the day, though, was McNeal. The Swansea, S.C. native scored 26 of her 34 points in the second half and was unstoppable for large stretches of the game. She got it done on all three levels and was a perfect 9-9 from the foul line. It was a continuation of a return to form that was expected of McNeal and she made it look pretty easy on Monday night.
Key Stats
After a break for finals, the Pirates will be back in action on Dec. 18 as they host the talented George Mason Patriots at 6 p.m. in Minges Coliseum.
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The first half was one to forget for the Pirates (5-3) who looked a step slow and a touch off for the first 20 minutes of the game, going into the halftime break trailing by 10. Nothing went right for the team before the half, including a 16-6 second period letdown.
But then the Pirates woke up. The team forced 12 turnovers in the third quarter, and were keyed to a 19-0 run in the period by the entry of Bobbi Smith to the top of the team's vaunted pressure defense. Smith finished the day with a season-best eight points to go with three steals and was simply sensational in a defense which absolutely shut down the Eagles (4-5) and led to turnover after turnover, steal after steal, and fast break bucket after fast break bucket.
The Pirates would go on to force 31 turnovers as a team, 16 of which came off of steals, and scored 31 points off of those turnovers. The third prong on the defensive backcourt was Micah Dennis who had a tremendous game of her own. The senior put up 12 points and a career high of five steals, besting her previous high of four which she had done multiple times (including thrice at Oklahoma State).
The ECU backcourt does deserve a mention as well. Tatyana Wyche put up her third double-digit rebounding game at ECU with 10 while contributing six points, and Amiya Joyner had her best game of the season with 10 points, nine rebounds and a steals while proving a formidable presence down low.
The star of the day, though, was McNeal. The Swansea, S.C. native scored 26 of her 34 points in the second half and was unstoppable for large stretches of the game. She got it done on all three levels and was a perfect 9-9 from the foul line. It was a continuation of a return to form that was expected of McNeal and she made it look pretty easy on Monday night.
Key Stats
- The Pirates won the second half 51-26, and the third quarter alone 30-11, after trailing 31-21 at the half.
- Morgan Moseley, a specialist at the craft, drew three charges in the game.
- With her fourth career 30-point game, McNeal now has the most by a Pirate since Jennifer Jackson had five from 2001-05. 34 points matches her career high from last season (vs. Houston 2/22/23).
-
- McNeal also creeps ever closer to the thousand point mark, sitting at 973 total and 868 at East Carolina.
After a break for finals, the Pirates will be back in action on Dec. 18 as they host the talented George Mason Patriots at 6 p.m. in Minges Coliseum.
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Team Stats
UMES
ECU
FG%
.377
.400
3FG%
.308
.214
FT%
.591
.765
RB
40
36
TO
31
16
STL
8
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
34
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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