Pirates Lose Thriller to Rice, 60-58

Saturday, February 21

Greenville, NC

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

20-8,12-3American

Rice

24-3,14-0American

Rice

East Carolina

February 21, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The game of the year in the American Conference lived up to the hype, but saw the East Carolina women's basketball team come up a tad short in a 60-58 thriller against the Rice Owls on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Rice (24-3, 14-0 American) has now won 19-consecutive games. The loss stops a five-game streak for the Pirates (20-7, 12-3 American).

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout with 13 lead changes and eight ties. The largest lead for either team all game was a six-point edge for ECU in the fourth quarter.

It was in that fourth quarter when a high-octane contest went to another level. The Pirates led throughout most of the period, using some excellent offensive execution and defensive excellence to maintain the lead, extending it to six on a Savannah Brooks bucket with 5:57 remaining and forcing a Rice timeout.

From there, the Owls took their turn to execute offensively, and ECU began to struggle, suffering four-consecutive empty trips to allow the visitors to go ahead by three.

A pair of Brooks free throws with 1:59 gave ECU life and the Pirates took the lead on a Kennedy Fauntleroy score with just 74 seconds remaining. A pair of stops by the two teams led to the game's decisive possession, in which Dominique Ennis drained a corner three with just over 12 ticks remaining to give Rice a two-point lead.

ECU was unable to convert on the ensuing possession and the Owls managed to run out the clock from there, the Pirates having only committed one foul previously in the period and unable to put Rice at the line to extend the game before time expired.

The game saw some inspired efforts. For Rice, an 11-point, 19-rebound game from Hailey Adams and a 16-point outing with four made triples from Ennis. And for ECU, Anzhané Hutton had herself a day with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games while Kennedy Fauntleroy went for 16 points and eight assists but struggled at times in the second half as a defensive adjustment by Rice allowed the senior to score four points after halftime.

Befitting a game of the magnitude, the game broke some statistical oddities. It was ECU's first loss this season after leading at the half and the first in which the Pirates have shot a better percentage from the field than their opponent. The team was previously 9-0 and 15-0 in such games.

Up Next
The Pirates will head on the road to take on Memphis at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday. ECU took the first meeting of the two teams this season on Jan. 3, 74-64 in Minges Coliseum.