PHILADELPHIA – The East Carolina women’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to Temple, 63-58, on Wednesday afternoon in the Liacouras Center. Jayla Hearp scored a team-high 19 points in the loss as the Pirates came back, then saw a lead evaporate in their second conference game of the year.
After the Pirates (8-6, 0-2 AAC) started the game hot, back-to-back triples by Tarriyonna Gary and Tiarra East propelled Temple (8-5, 2-0 AAC) into the lead, forcing an ECU timeout midway through the first quarter. The run didn’t end there, pushing to a 14-0 streak with a couple more threes by Gary before a Khia Miller jumper finally stopped the bleeding.
Still, despite falling behind by as many as nine in the first quarter, the Pirates battled back and with a Taliyah Wyche bucket at the buzzer made it just a three-point, one-possession game after the first 10 minutes played.
As Temple continued to expand their lead, the ECU continued to find ways to squeeze it back to a reasonable margin. Jayla Hearp was a major catalyst for this, at times seeming like the single-handedly desired to prevent the Pirates from losing. The junior guard hit three threes in the first half alone to pace the team with 15 points at the break, shooting a perfect 5-5 in the first two quarters.
A thorny foil to Hearp, Gary continued to trouble the Pirates with 18 points after 20 minutes played, including four made threes.
In the second half, forcing a Temple scoring drought of over five minutes and nearly eight minutes without a field goal, the Pirates leveled the score for the first time on an Anzhané Hutton jumper in the paint midway through the third quarter. Temple took the lead back heading into the final frame, but not without East Carolina finding life.
Hutton, for all that it’s worth, was revelatory in the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds in her second start of the season. It was her first double-double in Purple and Gold and her first since Feb. 25, 2023, when she was with UCF. The grad forward was relentless on the glass, particularly in the second half, as she worked to six offensive rebounds in the game.
The Pirates finally took the lead for the first time with just over eight to play when a pair of Miller free throws capped a 6-0 run in under two minutes played.
ECU would go up by as many as five, taking that lead on an and-one bucket by Miller with under five to play, but Temple fought back, forcing consecutive turnovers to take the lead back themselves with 1:42 to play. Temple’s defense had some terrific moments in the second half with the late steals as well as holding Hearp to just four points in the second half.
Hutton’s basket to level the game with just over a minute to play set up Kaylah Turner’s second-chance triple with 24.3 to play. It was Turner’s first made three of the game and proved the winner as Tatyana Wyche’s attempt to tie the game fell short in the final seconds and the Owls iced it at the line.
Up Next
The Pirates return home for their first game in Minges Coliseum of the new year as they host Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Check out Pirate Radio
Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube