East Carolina University
15-7,7-2American
Wichita State
5-16,2-6American
Pirates Lose Puzzler to Wichita State, 63-54
January 27, 2026 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - It felt like a fever dream in Minges Coliseum on Tuesday night as the East Carolina women's basketball team dropped a confounding result to the Wichita State Shockers, 63-54.
Something was amiss from the jump as the Shockers (5-16, 2-6 American) jumped on the Pirates, leading early and often. Though the first quarter was a thrilling one, what with seven lead changes and seven ties, the ensuring 30 minutes of basketball felt anything but.
The Pirates (15-7, 7-2 American) struggled mightily on offense, scoring just nine points in the second quarter and eight in the fourth. Taking a seven-point halftime deficit into the locker room—the largest since Dec. 3 for a team which had been on a tear—ECU struggled back in the third. Outscoring Wichita State, 18-12, the team gave themselves a puncher's chance going into the final minutes.
The game might have been in a better spot still if not for a frustrating sequence in at the 3:27 mark of the third when, after being called for a shooting foul, Keanna Rembert was also called for a technical foul. The penalty represented Rembert's fourth foul, sending the star forward to the bench, but more than that, the ensuing sequence turned a three-point game into an eight-point game with only 30 seconds coming off the clock.
In the fourth, the Pirates managed to level the game at 51 all with 8:22 remaining. However, it was a nightmare-inducing offensive performance from then out, ECU suffering a scoring drought of over eight minutes, missing 11 consecutive field goals and allowing a 12-0 run. The team did not score again until the last bucket of the game, a three by Kennedy Fauntleroy with just eight seconds left.
Fauntleroy led ECU in scoring with 13 points on the game as just two players (Taylor Barner) scored in double figures for the team. Fauntleroy also led the group with seven assists, but turned the ball over eight times as well. For the Shockers, it was Maimouna Sissoko leading the way with 16 points on 7-9 shooting from the field.
Up Next
The Pirates travel to Charlotte for an in-state battle on Sunday at 3 p.m.
