Pirates Refuse to Quit, Defeat Houston 88-83 in 3OT

Wednesday, February 22

Greenville, N.C.

6 PM

East Carolina University

20-8,11-4AAC

Houston

11-15,8-5AAC

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

Houston

East Carolina

February 22, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Notes (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – It was like it was scripted. The East Carolina women's basketball team came back from the dead once again after being down 12 points with under six minutes to play in regulation before the teams went on to play 21 more minutes of basketball as the Pirates defeated the Houston Cougars, 88-83, in front of a crowd of two-thousand-plus in Minges Coliseum Wednesday.

It seems hard to find a single player of the game in a 55-minute, high-stakes American Athletic Conference battle, but any list has to include the woman who played all 55 of those minutes while racking up 12 assists: Micah Dennis. Dennis ran the point with poise all game for the Pirates (20-8, 11-4 AAC) as she tallied the ninth-most assists in a game in program history.

To get to overtime, though, it took another remarkable comeback. Trailing by nine with 2:59 to play in regulation, the Pirates went on a tear going on a 10-1 run to level the game at 62. ECU even had a chance to win it in regular time, but Danae McNeal's shot fell off the rim. The Pirates have now come back from deficits of 11, nine and 12 in the fourth quarter - the Pirates trailed by 14 in the third Wednesday - to win their last three games and have won six-straight overall, the longest streak since 2014-15.

Overall, the game was as advertised: a physical, defensive-minded matchup that took three overtimes for a team to even reach 88 points. The Pirates and Cougars (10-15, 8-5 AAC) both ranked in the top three nationally in steals per game and delivered to the tune of 25 for ECU and 22 for Houston. Six Pirates recorded multiple takeaways on the day.

In terms of scoring, because despite the defense there was plenty. McNeal ran up another career high with 34 points to pace all scorers, knocking in 13 of her 15 attempts from the charity stripe. Synia Johnson added 16 points and seven boards of her own while adding a trio of steals.

Amiya Joyner also notched another double-double, adding 15 rebounds to her 14 points on the day. The double-double was the seventh in a row for Joyner, tying the longest such streak in program history with Rosie Thompson's run in 1978-79. Joyner also put up an impressive five blocks to go with five assists. The five blocks tied the 15^th most in program history.

Special kudos should be given to Iycez Adams. The sophomore forward absolutely played her heart out, finishing with a career-high 10 rebounds to go with six points, four assists, and a block.

More than individual stats, the game had major team implications. With a win at Tulane on Saturday (or a loss by Memphis in any of their final two games) the Pirates can officially clinch the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament. When all was said and done, the second-longest game in ECU history was a massive win which will not be soon forgotten.

Up Next
The Pirates will head to New Orleans for that matchup with the Green Wave on Saturday at 3 p.m.