Pirates Set to Compete in NCAA Tournament First Round Saturday

Game 33: No. 13 East Carolina (23-9) at No. 4 Texas (25-9)
Date	Saturday, March 18
Time	10:00 p.m. (EST)
Location	Austin, Texas (Moody Center)
Media Coverage	ESPN+ Live Stats Radio: 94.3 The Game
Game Notes	ECU Notes
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWBB Instagram: @ECUW BB Facebook: ECU W omen's Basketball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The 13-seed East Carolina women's basketball team will take on the four-seed Texas Longhorns on Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

The game is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN with Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings on the call. The game will also be available for listening on 94.3 FM The Game with Scott Rogers on the call and the broadcast starting 30 minutes prior to tip.

How We Got Here
The Pirates won three games in three days to shock the league and take home the 2023 American Athletic Conference Championship. Wins over #6 Tulane, #2 Memphis and #4 Houston sent ECU dancing after being picked 11^th in the AAC preseason poll as voted on by the coaches.

In the AAC Championship Game, the Pirates trailed Houston by as many as 11 but came to life in the second half, staying locked in on defense and finally taking a lid off of their own basket to take the lead and eventually the tie into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, Amiya Joyner hit a huge and-one bucket with a minute and change to play to give the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish. Joyner also made a crucial block with just 3.2 seconds to play while Micah Dennis came up big at the foul line with some late free throws.

Scouting the Longhorns
The Longhorns have had a superb season which saw them win a Big 12 regular season title before falling short to Iowa State in the conference championship game. Texas stands at 11th in the NET, a credit to their quality while boasting five wins over ranked opponents, including a 67-45 road romp over then No. 13 Oklahoma in Norman.

Texas spreads the wealth in a way that ought to please basketball purists with five players scoring in double figures and one more sitting at 9.4 points per game. The Longhorns also have seven players contributing four-plus boards per contest. Rori Harmon leads the squad with a whopping 213 assists on the year as well as 67 steals. Taylor Jones has a team-best 53 blocks to go with her 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Series History
Saturday's First Round matchup will be the first ever meeting between the Pirates and Longhorns.

Pirates Set to Compete in NCAA Tournament First Round Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Micah Dennis

Amiya Joyner

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