Pirates Throttle UTSA, 82-54

Tuesday, January 2

Greenville, N.C.

6 PM

East Carolina University

8-4,1-0AAC

UTSA

6-7,0-2AAC

UTSA

East Carolina

January 02, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's basketball team took a beating to the UTSA Roadrunners, 82-54, in the Pirates' conference opener on Tuesday night in Minges Coliseum. Four Pirates scored in double figures with Karina Gordon, Danae McNeal, Tatyana Wyche and Taliyah Wyche having fabulous games.

In the first half, it was Gordon's world and everyone else was just living in it. The freshman guard, thrust into the starting point guard spot with the absence of Micah Dennis, was on a heater from the jump, hitting three of her three attempts from behind the arc before the teams even reached the first media timeout. Gordon herself led at that break five minutes into the game, and the Pirates (8-4, 1-0 AAC) led overall 11-7.

Gordon would keep it rolling, knocking down two more triples in the first half as she went into the break with a game-high 17 points on 5-7 from downtown.

Gordon was hardly the only star of the game, nor even of the first half. Tatyana Wyche was absolutely tremendous and tirelessly relentless in the game as she went into the halftime break with seven points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Wyche and her twin sister, Taliyah, showed the skill that made them highly touted recruits out of the state of Florida, both finishing with 10+ points and 8+ rebounds. Taliyah, to her credit, put up 11 points in the game to go with eight assists, nearly missing a double-double. She got it done throughout the game, grabbing five rebounds in the first half and scoring eight points in the second half.

Taliyah Wyche was also a part of the run that broke the game open for good. The Pirates were on a tear from behind the arc in the second quarter, and Wyche earned the capper, the first made three of her career, followed up by a fast break bucket to give the Pirates a 15-1 run. By the time the spurt finally ended, it was an 18 point game and the Pirates were on their way, leading by as many as 29 in the contest.

UTSA (6-7, 0-2 AAC) struggled to take care of the ball in the game, turning it over 29 times, and the Roadrunners were unable to show their usual dominance on the glass, finishing with only a 42-40 margin on the glass. That result was thanks in large part to the work of the Wyche twins who accounted for 21 of their own.

Speaking of, Tatyana Wyche was simply dominant at times in the game, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds on the game. It was her first career double-double.

In the second half, UTSA was forced to adjust and try to take away Karina Gordon - though, she did hit one more three in the second half, tied for the most in a game in ECU history by a freshman. By taking away the offense of Gordon, it left the sliver of room Danae McNeal needed to take charge. The graduate guard got hot, finishing the game with 20 points, six assists and six steals, consistently showing her usual dominance on the defensive end of the floor where she is top-10 nationally in steals.

Though she didn't score as much in the second, Gordon was still a major contributor. The Hallandale Beach, Fla. native finished the game with seven assists to go with her career-best and game-high 22 points.

Most importantly, the win makes ECU 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play as they officially begin the defense of their 2023 league title.

Up Next
The Pirates travel to Memphis for a 3 p.m. ET tilt with the Tigers on Saturday. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.