Pirates Set for Eight-Seed Memphis in AAC Second Round

Game 30 \| AAC Second Round: #9 East Carolina (16-13, 9-9 AAC) vs. #8 Memphis (13-16, 9-9 AAC)
Date	Sunday, March 10
Time	1:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Fort Worth, Texas (Dickies Arena)
Media Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Live Stats: s tatbroadcast
Game Notes	East Carolina: Notes \| Quick Facts
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUWBB Instagram: @ECUW BB

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's basketball team is set to begin the defense of their 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament title as they take on the eight-seed Memphis Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Dickies Arena in Forth Worth, Texas. The game is set for 1 p.m. ET and will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Sam Gore and Aja Ellison on the call.

A Quest to Repeat
The Pirates begin the defense of their 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday. A refresher on how it happened:

The team was picked 11th of 11 in the preseason, went on to finished third in the regular season.
Defeated Tulane, 69-58, in round one - Micah Dennis scores 17 points, Synia Johnson scores 16 and Amiya Joyner grabs a tournament-record 19 rebounds.
Defeated Memphis, 69-60, in the semifinal round - Danae McNeal scores 22 points, Dennis adds another 17 and Johnson puts up 13 and six rebounds.
Defeated Houston, 46-44, in the title game - Johnson posts 13 points and seven rebounds, Joyner adds seven points and 15 rebounds.
Johnson is named Tournament Most Outstanding Player; Joyner is named to the All-Tournament team.

Last Time Out
The Pirates got their first win at Charlotte since 1998 in the regular season finale. Amiya Joyner starred in the game with 19 points and 16 rebounds, her 10th double-double of the season and fifth-straight to close the regular season. Danae McNeal also had a stellar day with 25 points as she extended her program record 20-point game streak to nine. The Pirates never trailed in the game, leading for 39:08 of game time.

Scouting Memphis
The Tigers enter the game looking to bounce back after dropping their regular season finale on the road at North Texas, 78-66. The team did manage to finish the regular season with a 9-9 record in league play, joining the pileup of five teams tied for sixth in the league with that record. Madison Griggs remains the woman to watch for the Tigers with her 16.8 points per game and 88 made three-point shots on the year. Alasia Smith has also been impressive with 10.0 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Series History
The Pirates and Tigers split the regular season road-and-road with Danae McNeal capping a comeback for the Pirates with a game-winning bucket with 15 seconds at Memphis and the Tigers mounting a 12-point comeback of their own for the win in Greenville. The Pirates now lead the all-time series by a very slim margin, 22-21.

We Just Watched History
Honored with a second-consecutive Defense Player of the Year Award, Danae McNeal had one of the great seasons ever in a Pirate uniform, cementing herself among the legends in the program's history. A few of her major accomplishments:

She is the fourth player in ECU history to record 1,000 points, 200 rebounds and 200 steals.
She is the eighth player in program history with 200 career steals. Currently has 214, two shy of Jasmine Young (2005-09) for seventh in program history.
She is sixth in program history with 93 steals on the season, four away fifth which was her own total of 97 from last season.
Her 25 points vs. Charlotte extended her program record for consecutive 20-point games to nine.
She is the player in program history to score 600 points in a season, now has 611 on the year.
- She four points from fourth in single-season points (Kathy Riley, 615), 10 points from third (Rosie Thompson, 621) and 14 from seconds (Jada Payne, 625).
She is 12th in program history with 1,312 career points at ECU. She is 32 points away from Lashonda Monk in 11th and 54 away from Sylvia Bragg in 10th.
She has scored 30-plus points five times this season, third in program history behind Rosie Thompson's seven from 1978-79 and Mary Denkler's six from 1982-82, Denkler's All-America season.
- She has scored 30-plus seven times in her career, third in program history behind Rosie Thompson's 11 and Debbie Freeman's 10.
She scored 35 points against SMU on Jan. 20, tied for 10th most in a game in program history. She also shot 15-15 at the foul line in the game, a program record.

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Players Mentioned

Micah Dennis

Synia Johnson

Amiya Joyner

Danae McNeal

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