Long day for ECU women in Greenville as turnovers mount up

Tulane Turns Back Lady Pirates, 56-51
ECU Commits Season-High 31 Turnovers

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women’s basketball team held Tulane to
23-percent shooting Saturday, but committed 31 turnovers in a 56-51 loss at Minges
Coliseum. The Lady Pirates (18-7, 7-5) lost at home for the first time this season
and had a 12-game Minges winning streak snapped in the process. The Green Wave
solidified their hold on first-place as they are now 19-5 overall and 8-3 in league
play. The contest was held in front of 3,157 fans, the sixth-largest crowd in
program history.

“Tulane is a great defensive team and really took us out of our offense,” head coach
Sharon Baldwin-Tener remarked. “We competed in the second half but 31 turnovers will
not win you ballgames. I knew we would lose at Minges at some point but it was
disappointing the way it happened today.”

East Carolina missed its first seven shots as Tulane jumped out to a 9-1 advantage.
The Green Wave then went further ahead, using a 14-9 run to assume a 23-10 lead.
However, Ashley Clarke grabbed two defensive rebounds and turned them into four
points as the Lady Pirates cut the deficit to seven. It would be as close as the
home team would get the rest of the half, as Tulane took a 29-18 advantage into the
locker room.

Both teams struggled to shoot the ball, as they combined to go 14-for-55 from the
field. The Green Wave asserted itself on the glass, picking up nine offensive
rebounds as part of a 24-19 margin. East Carolina also turned the ball over 16 times
as Tulane scored 12 points off those many miscues.

Clarke scored 12 of the Lady Pirates’ 18 points in the period while she and Kim Gay
both grabbed five rebounds. Clarke also had ECU’s lone assist.

As in Thursday’s contest against UTEP, the Lady Pirates rallied, this time tying the
score at 32 as they hit their five of their first eight shots which included two
triples from Allison Spivey. East Carolina stayed close, sitting in a deadlock at 44
as the clock ticked towards the 4:00 minute mark. However, Tiffany Aidoo nailed a
key three-pointer which sparked a 12-7 game-ending run for the Green Wave.

Clarke nearly recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points to go along with eight
rebounds. Spivey had a strong second half, scoring all 14 of her points in the
period and was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc as well as leading the team with a
career-high nine rebounds. Additionally, Jean Best netted 10 points for the
second-straight contest.

The Lady Pirates held Tulane to just 23-percent shooting, but committed a
season-high 31 turnovers which the Green Wave turned into 22 points. ECU made more
field goals (17-14), but Tulane took 13 more shots due in part to 13 offensive
rebounds.

East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum one last time in 2009-10, facing Tulsa on
Sunday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

Charles Welch
Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations
East Carolina University