Pirates Survive Scare From Florida Atlantic, 78-74

Thursday, January 25

Boca Raton, FL

5 PM

East Carolina University

11-7,4-3AAC

Florida Atlantic

5-13,0-7AAC

East Carolina

Fla. Atlantic

January 25, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The East Carolina women's basketball team survived a late scare from the Florida Atlantic Owls, winning 78-74, on Thursday evening in Baldwin Arena. Danae McNeal led the Pirates with 32 points and four steals in the game as the team fended off the Owls' late comeback.

The Owls (5-13, 0-7 AAC) took the first punch in the game, jumping out to an early six-point lead thanks in part to a healthy margin on the glass, including nine first-half offensive rebounds. Florida Atlantic also hit a trio of three-point shots in the first half to bolster their efforts early.

The Pirates (11-7, 4-3 AAC) hung around though, flying back into the game with an 8-0 run over a stretch of 44 seconds in the second quarter to take the lead back at 19-17. The run was kicked off by a Karina Gordon triple dished out by Tatyana Wyche. It would be a common theme that the native Floridians on the team played a big role in the first half. Morgan Moseley capped the run with an and-one finish midway through the quarter.

Back to the Floridians for a moment, Wyche, a native of Ft. Lauderdale, put a play on her highlight reel in the first half as the stole the ball, and went coast-to-coast on a give-and-go with Khia Miller. Meanwhile, Gordon, native of Hallandale Beach, knocked down a second three not long after to give the Pirates a late lead in what turned into a back-and-forth affair in the first half. The Pirates did go into the break down by a point, 27-26.

Amiya Joyner then stepped to the plate and had one of the best starts to a half you can imagine. The Farmville native scored a gritty and-one on the opening possession, then a putback layup next time down. Joyner then swatted an Owl shot and on the ensuing offensive trip battled hard in the post for another second-chance score. A 7-0 run in 2:11 by No. 23 herself to put the Pirates back in front.

From there, the lead wavered between six and four before the Owls made the mistake of waking up Danae McNeal. The graduate guard dropped 17 points in the third quarter alone, including a three-point shot off of a massive Bobbi Smith offensive rebound with a minute to play in the quarter which gave the Pirates their first double-digit lead of the game.

Things got a little hairy in the fourth quarter for the Pirates as Florida Atlantic roared to life. With ECU leading by 15 with just over five minutes to play, the Owls used a pair of runs, 12-2 and 7-0 respectively, to battle their way back not only into the game, but to knot the score at 70 apiece on a Mya Perry triple with 1:08 remaining.

Aniya Hubbard was the catalyst for the run, scoring 12 of her 30 points in the final period to will her team back into the game. She and the Owls did the lion's share of their work at the charity stripe with Hubbard going 8-9 and a 13-19 clip for the team overall.

Tied at 70 it was gut-it-out time for the Pirates, and it was once again the Florida kids (and Morgan Moseley, more on her in a moment) who led the way.

After a defensive stand to prevent Florida Atlantic from going in front, Tatyana Wyche was fouled in the post, sinking both attempts with poise to set up the defensive possession of the game. That's where Moseley came in. The forward put her body on the line, taking a charge – the 51^st of her career – on a hard drive by Perry.

After the Pirates called timeout to advance the ball, the coaches dialed up a perfect play: an inbounds by Taliyah Wyche to McNeal who was quickly and expectedly doubled in the corner, who was able to flip the ball over the double back to a wide-open Wyche for the lay-in. It was poetry in motion and put the Pirates in commanding position.

The Pirates forced another stop and Gordon stepped calmly to the line to swish home her seventh and eighth points of the game.

Florida Atlantic laid in two more buckets – one coming at the horn – and McNeal knocked down another pair of free throws, and the Pirates at escaped with win No. 11 and, more importantly, win No. 4 in American Athletic Conference play.

Notably, with 30 on the day, McNeal became the first Pirate to record four-or-more 30-point games in a season since Mary Denkler in 1982-83 and just the third overall (Rosie Thompson, 1978-79).

Up Next
The Pirates stay in Florida to play the South Florida Bulls on Sunday at noon on ESPNU.