Pirates See Season End in Loss to Second Seed North Texas, 69-58

Monday, March 10

Fort Worth, Texas

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

17-15,8-10AAC

North Texas

24-7,15-3AAC

East Carolina

North Texas

Photo by: The American/Cos Lymperopoulos

Pirates See Season End in Loss to Second Seed North Texas, 69-58

March 10, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – The seventh-seeded East Carolina women's basketball team fell to the second-seeded North Texas Mean Green, 69-58, in the American Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Round on Monday evening in Dickies Arena.

The game got off to a frustratingly slow start offensively, particularly for the Pirates (17-15, 8-10 AAC) 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 Mean Green (24-7, 15-3 AAC) were able to shake off their slow start thanks to some strong play from star Tommisha Lampkin whose six points and six rebounds in the opening frame were both game highs.

However, despite the sluggish beginning, ECU trailed by just five after the first quarter and a pair of layups by Jayla Hearp and Khia Miller to open the second quarter quickly transformed the game back into a tossup.

The lead changed hands a stunning eight times in the second quarter as the Pirates came alive, turning defense to offense and beginning to give North Texas issues. The team also stemmed the bleeding on the glass, an effort led by Amiya Joyner's eight first-half rebounds to counteract Lampkin's seven.

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 as the Pirates once more struggled to find the basket before Joyner finally ended the drought at the three-minute mark. That North Texas run put life into the local fanbase, just miles down the road from Denton, aiding the second seed to a double-digit lead late in the third.

Jaelyn Talley became quite the problem for North Texas in that quarter as well, scoring nine points in the period while playing solid defense on the other end. She would finish the game with 13, joining team-leader Lampkin, who posted 15, in double-figures scoring.

The Pirates made a run early in the quarter to get within two, Hearp making a corner three on an out-of-bounds set and Joyner making a sweet spinning layup; however, back-to-back triples by Jaaucklyn Moore and Desiree Wooten helped North Texas push back in front by double figures, forcing an ECU timeout with just under six minutes to play.

Out of the break, North Texas played with more purpose and energy, 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.

In a game which was, at times, simply chaotic, Joyner had moments of brilliance. She finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs. It wasn't quite enough.

The loss marks the end of the Pirates' 2024-25 season. It was a year full of ups and downs but one ultimately featuring a third-consecutive winning record, something which had previously not been done since the stretch from 2012-13 to 2014-15 seasons. 59 wins over the last three seasons also represents the most since 66 during that same period.