Joyner Leads Pirates Past UNCW, 71-56

Saturday, December 21

Greenville, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

8-4,0-0AAC

UNCW

6-6,0-0CAA

UNCW

East Carolina

December 21, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's basketball team defeated UNCW, 71-56, on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. Amiya Joyner went for an historic 30-point, 16-rebound outing while Jayla Hearp added 16 points in the win.

Days removed from not having a single player score in double figures on Wednesday, Joyner made sure that would not happen to the Pirates (8-4) again against the Seahawks (6-6) as she put up a double-double in the first half with 12 points and 10 rebounds at the break. However, the Pirates found themselves trailing by four points after 20 minutes of play after relinquishing an 11-point lead, culminating in an 11-0 burst by the visitors to end the half.

UNCW poured in four threes in the first half to lead despite being out-rebounded 24-14.

The Pirates took over to start the second half with what ended up being an 11-0 and 17-2 run. The team went on to lead by as many as 20 throughout the remainder of the game. Joyner scored 18 points in the second half which alone would have made her the game's leading scorer.

Hearp on the other hand, split her scoring evenly with eight in each half, including two made threes on the day.

ECU moved the ball much better in the second half as the lead swelled, adding up to a season-high-matching 20 assists on the game. The Pirates scored the ball more efficiently in other ways in the second half, too, with a 46.9 percent clip from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the foul line.

With the win, the Pirates finish conference play with a .667-or-better winning percentage for the seventh time since 2010.

More on Joyner's Historic Day:

16 rebounds tie the program record for career 15-rebound games. The junior now has 12 such games in her ECU career, matching Debbie Freeman and Rosie Thompson for the program mark.
It was her second 30-point, 15-rebound effort of the season. Prior to the season there had not been one such game for ECU since 2004 and none in regulation since a year prior still.
It was her eighth career 20-point double-double.
She moved over 900 career points and now sits at 922. She also now has 108 blocks in her career—only one player in program history has ever scored 1,000 points with 100 blocks (Marcia Girven).
She now sits at 723 career blocks, moving up to ninth in program history, just one board away from eighth.
It was her second career 30-point game, making her the 18th player in program history with multiple 30-point outings.

Up Next
The Pirates begin conference play when they return from break and will do so on the road at Tulsa on Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. ET.