McNeal, Pirates Down Memphis Late, 64-63

Saturday, January 6

Memphis, TN

3 PM

East Carolina University

9-4,2-0AAC

Memphis

4-10,0-3AAC

East Carolina

Memphis

January 06, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The East Carolina women's basketball team won a stunner over Memphis, 64-63, on Saturday afternoon in Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Danae McNeal scored the game winning basket with 15.4 seconds remaining and two final attempts for Memphis came up short with Tatyana Wyche blocking the last-ditch effort at the horn.

The story of the day is that the Pirates (9-4, 2-0 AAC) closed the game on a 12-2 run over the final 3:21. It was a bizarre 40 minutes of a basketball. It looked at times like the Pirates might run away with it. Then it looked like the Tigers (4-10, 0-3 AAC) might run them out of the gym. But when the final buzzer sounded, it was East Carolina on top for their second conference win of the season.

McNeal, who finished with 17 points, four assists and a career-high matching seven steals, got the Pirates going early with her signature passing-lane defense leading to transition offense and a pair of 6-0 runs in the first half which served to erase an early 12-5 hole and give the Pirates a nine-point lead in the first half which they would take into the break.

Amiya Joyner also played a critical role in that first half, blocking three shots as she moved into the top 10 in program history in career rejections. The sophomore now has 74 to her name and moves by Gretta Savage's 73 from 1985-89. Joyner got it done outside of scoring in that first half as she struggled to find the basket, dishing out a pair of nice assists, grabbing two boards and knocking down a pair of free throws.

To her credit, Wyche was also phenomenal in the game, including the first half where she scored 10 points on perfect shooting from the field and the foul line. The forward would finish the game with 14 points on 6-6 shooting and 2-2 from the stripe, five rebounds, a steal, and a critical block.

The Pirates would maintain a lead for much of the third quarter and into the fourth, shooting an excellent clip from the field but struggling to take care of the ball. The team would go on to turn it over 28 times in the game while shooting 54.5 from the field.

In the fourth quarter, the Memphis of old woke up. Madison Griggs, the Tigers' all-time leader in threes, caught fire, knocking down a trio of triples in the final quarter and thrusting Memphis suddenly in front in the game.

Griggs did so while dealing with foul trouble, something which finally came to a head when she was disqualified on her fifth foul with 1:20 remaining in the game. Her absence was palpable on those final possessions.

Still, Griggs did her damage and the Tigers made tough work on defense and on the glass to help themselves to a nine-point lead on the guard's three-point shot with 3:43 remaining in the game.

A Joyner free throw with 3:21 stopped the bleeding and gave the Pirates life. From there, East Carolina did the things that fans perhaps most associate with the program: forced turnovers and slowly walking down the lead.

Kimora Jenkins was fabulous in that effort. Not only did she help the team force multiple turnovers, but the junior also scored a clutch basket with 1:47 remaining in the game which cut the lead to just two. It was a one-possession game for the first time in nearly seven minutes and the momentum had fully shifted.

After a takeaway and a foul - the fifth and final foul on Griggs - Karina Gordon calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game up, but Memphis responded to go back in front. Then the teams entered a brief stalemate.

McNeal, who struggled mightily from the stripe, made half of a two-shot trip to the charity stripe with 50 seconds left to set up a drama-filled final minute. It started with a long defensive possession for the Pirates which, despite 26 seconds of solid play, resulted in two free throws for the Tigers.

Memphis missed both, though, and the Pirates advanced the ball for a look to win it with 24 seconds to play. As she has so many times before, McNeal delivered, scoring a tough runner from the left side of the lane off glass with 15.4 seconds to play.

It looked like the Pirates needed to stand tall defensively just once to win it, but the basketball gods had other ideas. Memphis missed their attempt and Joyner rebounded – a critical rebound for one of the best rebounders in the league – but she missed two free throws with 8.2 remaining. Memphis had no timeouts and would need to get the ball and run.

Jenkins had other ideas. She got enough of a hand on the rebound, dove on the floor, and forced a jump ball with under six seconds to play. It was Memphis ball, but with less time.

On the final inbound, the Pirates went into their signature press and forced Memphis into a trap 35 feet from the rim where Tatyana Wyche stood tall and blocked the final shot of the game. Pirate victory.

Up Next
The Pirates return home for a 6 p.m. tip with the UAB Blazers on Wednesday evening in Minges Coliseum. The game will also be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Evan Budrovich and Debbie Taylor on the call.