East Carolina Women's Basketball Postseason Notes
March 18, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Postseason notes for the American Athletic Conference Runner-Up ECU Women's Basketball team.
Awards
Tournament Milestones
Individual Milestones
Team Milestones
Awards
- Danae McNeal won her second-consecutive American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award.
- McNeal is the second ECU player to do so after Lashonda Monk (2020/2021).
- McNeal is the fourth Pirate to win the award in the last five seasons.
- An ECU player has won AAC Defensive Player of the Year in four of Kim McNeill's five seasons at the helm.
- McNeal was named American Conference First-Team All-Conference for the second-consecutive season and did so unanimously.
- McNeal is the second ECU player to earn First-Team honors twice since joining the American (Jada Payne in 2015 and 2016).
- Tatyana Wyche was named to the American's All-Newcomer Squad
- Danae McNeal and Tatyana Wyche were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament team.
Tournament Milestones
- The Pirates reached the conference final in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991 and 1992.
- The Pirates reached the conference semifinal-or-later for the first time since 1999 and 2000.
- The Pirates won games in consecutive conference tournaments for the first time since 2018 and 2019.
- The Pirates defeated the No. 1 seed in a conference tournament for the first time since defeating James Madison in the CAA Semifinals in 1991, 78-75.
- Danae McNeal broke the AAC Tournament single-game steals record with 10. The total was also second in ECU history.
- McNeal broke the AAC Tournament record for total steals with 14.
- Tatyana Wyche broke the AAC Tournament record with 13 blocks, besting Breanna Stewart's 10 which she set twice.
- The Pirates' 14 blocks vs. Memphis were a tournament record and third most in program history (the team has had 15 blocks in a game twice, most recently in Dec. 2014).
Individual Milestones
- Danae McNeal scored 684 points, second most in a season in ECU history.
- McNeal finished second in the American in scoring at 20.7 per game.
- McNeal's 1,259 points across the last two seasons were the most by an ECU player in a two-year stretch since Rosie Thompson's 1,308 in 1977-78 and 1978-79.
- From Feb. 4 to March 5, McNeal scored 20-or-more points in nine-consecutive games, a program record.
- McNeal scored 30-or-more points in five games, third most in ECU history.
- Only Rosie Thompson (6 in 1978-79) and Mary Denkler (5 in 1982-83) have more.
- McNeal finishes her career with seven 30-point games, tied for fourth most in program history (Tonya Hargrove/Courtney Willis).
- McNeal scored a career high 35 points against SMU on Jan. 20, 10th most in ECU history.
- McNeal also shot 15-15 from the free throw line in the game, a program record.
- McNeal reached 1,385 points in just over two seasons with the Pirates, ninth in program history.
- McNeal reached 107 steals on the season and 228 in her ECU career, fifth and sixth in program history, respectively.
- McNeal's 107 steals made her the fourth individual in ECU history to reach 100 steals in a single season.
- McNeal led the American in steals, grabbing 39 more steals than the next closest players as of the end of the conference tournament.
- McNeal recorded 10 steals vs. Tulsa on March 11, an American Tournament record and second in a game in ECU history.
- Her 29 points scored is the most by a player in ECU history with 10 steals (Lashonda Monk – 20, Delphine Mabry – 12, Toina Coley – 9)
- McNeal wound up with a .790 career free throw percentage, third in ECU history.
- Amiya Joyner finished the season with 309 rebounds, third in ECU history.
- Joyner led the American Athletic Conference in rebounding with 9.97 per game.
- Joyner is the first conference rebounding champion since Danielle Melvin led the CAA with 8.9 rebounds per game in 1999.
- From Feb. 17 to March 12 Joyner recorded eight-consecutive double-doubles. This is the longest streak in ECU history according to available records.
- Rosie Thompson had a streak of seven in 1978-79.
- It is possible that Debbie Freeman accomplished the feat in 1975-76 but game-by-game results are unavailable for that season.
- Joyner finished the season with 13 double-doubles and now has 26 in her two seasons as a Pirate.
- Joyner grabbed 20 rebounds on Feb. 17 against Memphis, the first ECU player to do so since Courtney Willis on Feb. 13, 2004, in a 4OT loss against TCU.
- Joyner also became the first player in program history to record a 20-rebound double-double with five assists.
- Joyner has now recorded nine 15-plus rebound games in her career, tied for third in program history with I'Tiana Taylor and behind only Rosie Thompson and Debbie Freeman (12 each).
- Joyner finishes the season at 98 career blocks, two away from becoming the sixth player in ECU history with 100.
- Joyner finished the year with 47 blocks on the season, tied for 10th in ECU history.
- Tatyana Wyche finished the season with 51 blocks, tied for seventh in ECU history.
- Against Wichita State (Feb. 4) and Charlotte (Feb. 10), Wyche blocked 13 shots in just two games.
- Wyche's seven blocks against Wichita State is tied for third most in a game in ECU history.
- Wyche also became the first player in ECU history with a double-double and at least seven blocks.
- Wyche and Joyner recorded double-doubles in the same game twice on the year (Feb. 24 and March 10).
- The Pirates had most recently had two teammates record double-doubles in the same game on Feb. 22, 2017.
- Wyche and Joyner combined for 502 rebounds on the season, the most by ECU teammates since I'Tiana Taylor and Jada Payne's 561 in 2015-16.
- Karina Gordon ended up with 48 made threes on the year, third in ECU history by a freshman.
- Gordon hit six threes vs. UTSA on Jan. 2, tied for the second-highest total in ECU history.
- Khia Miller came on strong late, scoring in double figures in five of the Pirates' last six games.
Team Milestones
- The team achieved a winning season in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-18 and 2018-19.
- 42 wins over two seasons is the most since winning 44 in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
- The team reached a .500-or-better record in league play in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013-14 and 2014-15.
- Went 12-10 from Jan. 2 to the end of the season despite being down two Team Captains/starters.
- The team finished with 175 blocks, second in program history.
- The team finished with 350 steals, sixth in program history.
- The team forced 696 turnovers, seventh most in program history.
- The team shot .713 from the foul line, second in program history. The team also made 464 free throws, sixth in program history.
Players Mentioned
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