ECU over Southern Miss and 14-point night puts Spivey(High Point Central) just 6 shy of 1,000

Courtesy of Charles Welch(Northwest Guilford/East Carolina)

Pirates Roll Past Southern Miss, 91-67
ECU Hits 13 Three-Point Field Goals, Registers 21 Assists

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina earned a split of the season series with Southern
Miss Thursday, blowing by the Golden Eagles 91-67 at Minges Coliseum. The Pirates
improve to 11-12 overall and 5-5 in Conference USA while Southern Miss falls to 9-14
and 4-6.

ECU scored the second-most points in a C-USA regular season contest since joining
the league while tying the school record with 13 three-point field goals. The
Pirates also netted a season third-best 32 field goals and registered 21 assists on
those buckets.

“The first half was key tonight,” head coach Heather Macy said. “We rebounded the
ball, kept them off the glass and limited them to only four offensive rebounds. I
thought we did an amazing job in the first half and an average job in the second
half. Our posts did a great job rebounding the ball while our guards got in and
scrapped inside. Our shooters shot it well and the way Crystal came in and made
three threes for us was huge. I’m real proud of her and they way she played.”

ECU shot a season-best 56 percent from the field (32-for-57) while holding the
visitors to 39 percent (28-for-71). The Pirates also held the advantage in
rebounding by a 43-29 count but turned the ball over 26 times as compared to 14 for
USM. East Carolina helped itself from the free throw line, draining 14 of its 18
tries.

“I think when you shot it as well as we did in the first half, it all of sudden
starts to open up driving lanes and really changes the game,” Macy added. “As a
result, we were able to get to the hole and free throw line.”

With 14 points in the contest, senior Allison Spivey(High Point Central HS) sits just six away from 1,000
for her career. Ashley Clarke led four players in double figures with 18 points
while Kim Gay and Crystal Wilson dropped in 15 each. Additionally, Wilson knocked
down a career-high three triples and Spivey added four to her program career-best
total of 187. On the glass, Jean Best pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds while just
missing a double-double with nine points.

East Carolina welcomed back two of its seniors as squad leading scorer Gay and Kelly
Smith made their first appearances in two and three games, respectively.

Jamierra Faulkner gave Southern Miss a 13-10 lead at the 14:40 mark, hitting two
free throws after knocking down a three. However, ECU responded with a 12-2 run,
capped off by a Wilson trey, to push in front 22-15 with 11:01 remaining in the
period.

The Pirates quickly extended the lead all the way to 20, using a trio of three-point
shots to out-score the Golden Eagles 17-4 down to the 5:52 mark and make the score
39-19. The advantage rose as high as 21 before Tanesha Washington closed out the
half’s scoring with a free throw as ECU held a 48-28 lead at the break.

Wilson paced all scorers with 11 in the first 20 minutes on four-of-five shooting
while Jean Best had six rebounds to show for her 12 minutes played. Clarke also had
three of the Pirates’ 11 assists.

East Carolina blistered the nets in the period, converting 60 percent of its
attempts from the field, as the Pirates also recorded a plus 10 rebounding margin
(21-11).

A layup by Gay at the 17:16 mark of the second half afforded ECU its largest lead of
the contest at 55-32, before a Nia Bradford layup brought the advantage back down to
58-38.

The Golden Eagles eventually cut their deficit down to 17 when Faulkner dropped in a
layup, but only 6:03 showed on the clock. A trey by Gay on the next possession would
make it a 20-point affair once more.

Washington brought Southern Miss to within 14 via a jumper in the paint with 2:58
left. However, it would be the last points the Golden Eagles scored as the Pirates
netted the last 10 points of the evening. A scrappy offensive rebound and put back
by freshman Katie Paschal ended the scoring, pushing ECU over 90 points for the
third time this season.

East Carolina returns to action Sunday in a nationally-televised tilt at
league-leading Houston, who is undefeated in C-USA play at 10-0. Tipoff is scheduled
for 2:45 p.m. ET and will be shown live on ESPN2 as part of the network’s February
Frenzy.

Charles Welch
Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations