Pirates Defeat Memphis, 64-45, Advance to American Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 9

Fort Worth, Texas

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

17-14,8-10AAC

Memphis

7-23,5-13AAC

Memphis

East Carolina

Photo by: The American/Cos Lymperopoulos

Pirates Defeat Memphis, 64-45, Advance to American Quarterfinals

March 09, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – The seventh-seeded East Carolina women's basketball team defeated the 10th-seeded Memphis Tigers, 64-45 on Sunday evening in Dickies Arena in the second round of the 2025 Athletic Conference Tournament. The victory was a bit of revenge for the Pirates, having lost at Memphis during the regular season and marks seven wins in the program's last eight games in the league tournament.

The Pirates (17-14, 8-10 AAC) led wire-to-wire, scoring the first basket 10 seconds in and never giving up their advantage.

ECU first used a 6-0 run late in the first quarter to create a bit of separation with the Tigers (7-23, 5-13 AAC) early on in the game. Though, the struggles offensively were mighty for both teams. Outside of Jayla Hearp, who shot 3-7 from the field in the opening frame, the teams combined for a 6-29 clip from the field for a mark of just over 20 percent in 10 minutes of action.

The lead got to double figures for the first time with just under seven minutes to play in the second quarter when a Memphis turnover led to a wide-open break for Devin Hagemann whose layup drew a Tigers timeout. It was 20-9 entering that pause in the action and despite a Memphis basket when play resumed, a 7-0 run for ECU pushed the lead rapidly to 16 at the midway point of the quarter.

The Pirates led by as many as 20 before halftime, dominating the second quarter 26-17 to take a sizable advantage into the break. Hearp and Amiya Joyner led the team with 10 apiece at the break with Joyner hauling in five rebounds as well. As a team, the Pirates assisted on 12 of 16 made field goals in the first half.

Joyner continued to be a force as the second half got underway, nearly keeping pace with Memphis herself as she scored eight of the Pirates 12 points of the third. The junior also wrapped up her double-double in short order after the half grabbing five boards in the third quarter alone. It was her 14th of the season, a new career high.

Conversely, the Tigers simply struggled to put ball in the basket, making two of just 13 shots from the field down the stretch of the quarter and registering a scoring drought of nearly six minutes.

The fourth quarter, though largely academic, featured some good action, nonetheless. Joyner drilled her fourth three of the season to tick over 20 points on the game, her 12th career 20-point double-double and eighth 20-point outing of the season.

Speaking of 20, the Pirates pushed the margin back over that barrier for the second time in the game on a Khia Miller jumper to beat the shot clock buzzer at the six-minute mark. That score was a part of a 9-0 run which erased any remaining doubts of the outcome.

Of significant note, the Farmville native finished the game with 11 rebounds which gives her 102 boards in eight career American Tournament games which is a conference record. Bethy Mununga of South Florida held the previous record at 100 from 2020-22.

Notables

Anzhané Hutton recorded a career high 5 assists in the game to go with seven rebounds.
Three Pirates scored in double figures with Hearp and Hagemann joining Joyner with 12 and 11 apiece.
Hagemann contributed five assists for the sixth time this season.
The Pirates held the Tigers well below their season average of 67.6 points per game at just 45.
Sunday marked the fourth-consecutive year in which the Pirates played the Tigers in the conference tournament and the third-straight win.

Up Next
The Pirates will compete at the same time again on Monday evening, a 7 p.m. ET tipoff with second-seeded North Texas in the American quarterfinals in Dickies Arena. The game will once again be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Tiffany Greene and Brooke Weisbrod on the call.