East Carolina University
UNCW
Pirates Kick Off 2025-26 Against UNCW Monday
November 02, 2025 | Women's Basketball
|  Game One: East Carolina (17-15, 8-10 American in 2024-25) vs. UNCW (14-18, 8-10 CAA in 2024-25)  | |
| Â Date | Â Monday, November 3 |
| Â Time | Â 6:00 p.m. (ET) |
| Â Location | Â Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum)Â |
| Â Tickets | Â Purchase Here |
|  Media  Coverage |
 Live Stats: StatBroadcast  Streaming: ESPN+ |
|  Game Notes |  East Carolina | UNCW |
|  Social  Media |
 Twitter: @ECUWBB  Instagram: @ECUWBB |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's basketball team gets 2025-26 officially underway at 6 p.m. on Monday as they welcome the UNCW Seahawks into Minges Coliseum. Tickets are still available for purchase and for those unable to make it out the game will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Evan Budrovich and Brittany Hoyt on the call.
In celebration of the new court design in Minges, rally towels will be given away to the first 100 fans in attendance on Monday.
Last You Saw Them
The Pirates fell to the North Texas Mean Green, 69-58, in the American Tournament Quarterfinal Round. The game got off to a frustratingly slow start offensively, particularly for the Pirates who made only three of their 17 field goals in the first quarter to find themselves trailing for the first time in the tournament. The lead changed hands eight times in the second quarter as the Pirates came alive. The Mean Green got the better of much of the third quarter, using a 11-0 run to turn a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Jaelyn Talley came through for North Texas in the third, scoring nine points in the period. She would finish the game with 13, joining team-leader Lampkin, who posted 15, in double-figures scoring. The Pirates aback in front by double figures extending their lead to as many as 15 while the Pirates continued to suffer from sloppy offensive sets. That was, perhaps, fitting of the game, as the Pirates lost the turnover battle decisively, 18-9. Conversely, North Texas made eight of their final 10 field goals to conclude the game.
Amiya Joyner led the Pirates with 18 points and 13 rebounds as four players finished in double figures scoring.
Scouting UNCW
The Seahawks recorded a 14-18 record in 2024-25 with an 8-10 mark in CAA play. The finished 10th in the league before falling to Delaware in their opening game of the conference tournament in a 71-55 decision. Ali Zelaya ked the team in scoring and rebounding with over a dozen points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Right behind her was Taylor Henderson with 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Neither player returns in 2025-26 for a team which returns only two players who started more than 10 games a season ago. Kate Hollifield is the premier player of that group, bringing back her 31 games started and 6.8 points per game last season. The Seahawks will welcome four newcomers, including two transfers to their 2025-26 squad.
Series History
The Pirates and Seahawks have met 56 times dating back to their first game back in 1978 with a 33-23 edge for ECU all time, including the last three in the series. While members of the CAA, the teams met twice in the conference tournament, both Pirate wins. Last season it was all ECU in a 71-56 game in Greenville with Amiya Joyner posting a 30-point, 16-rebound performance to pace all players. Jayla Hearp, who returns this season, was the second leading scorer in the game with 16.
The Expectations Game      Â
The Pirates were picked seventh in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. No individuals earned preseason All-Conference nods.
New Year, New Squad          Â
The roster consists of just three returners and 10 newcomers (five transfers and five freshmen).
Incoming Production           Â
The Pirates bring in a combined 2,228 points, 1,054 rebounds, 400 assists, 320 steals and 68 blocks across four incoming transfer players with collegiate playing experience. Taylor Barner, a four-star 92-rated recruit by ESPN out of high school, is the lone transfer who has not logged collegiate minutes, missing 2024-25 due to injury.
At the Helm  Â
2025-26 will be the Pirates' seventh under the tutelage of Kim McNeill. The program has an 87-92 record under her leadership with a real shot to move over .500 this season.
F is for Family          Â
The Pirates welcome two recent alumnae onto the staff for the 2025-26 season with Synia Johnson and Morgan Moseley joining as Assistant Director of Operations/Director of Recruiting and Graduate Assistant Coach, respectively.
Reclaim
Each season the Pirates choose an important word, meaningful to the team, to put on the back of their practice jerseys. In 2025-26, the team chose the word Reclaim, signifying the group's goals after a turbulent 2024-25 of returning to their roots as a defensive minded team, getting back to their standards as role models in the community and striving for excellence in the classroom.
