Total team performance drives ECU past UNCW, 82-63

The East Carolina women’s basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with a victory taking an 82-63 result over UNCW on Monday night in Minges Coliseum. Six players scored in double figures in the win.

The Pirates (1-0) got out of the gates hot with a 10-0 run over 4:12 in the first quarter, doing so primarily with their defense. The team forced 11 turnovers in that first quarter with eight steals—the most in a quarter since registering nine takeaways in the fourth quarter against USC Upstate in the 2023-24 season. Of ECU’s 14 points in the first, 12 came off of turnovers and a dozen came in the paint as well.

Despite some good numbers, it was only a one-point game after a quarter, as UNCW (0-1) forced seven turnovers on the Pirates to keep it close. The Seahawks found a little more momentum in the second quarter, putting up 22 points paced by 10 from Icyss Storm to take a 35-34 lead into the halftime break. Storm wound up scoring 13 in the game.

Out of the intermission, the Pirates took charge with a 25-point quarter, including a 9-0 run in the waning minutes to push themselves to a 12-point margin. Jayla Hearp and Kennedy Fauntleroy got going in that quarter with seven points apiece while Savannah Brooks continued what turned into a tremendous defensive outing with three steals.

Again, in the third, ECU scored nine points off of turnovers, but this time held UNCW to none. The Pirates took a 10-point lead into the final period of competition.

In the fourth, after UNCW briefly cut the lead to nine, the Pirates took charge with yet another 9-0 run. Nine different ECU players scored in the final quarter as the lead swelled dramatically.

As the game wore on and the Pirates push further, there seemed to always be a timely score for the hosts. One such shot was a dagger of a three from well clear of the arc by Taylor Barner in the third quarter. With under two-and-a-half minutes to play, UNCW had cut the margin to three when the redshirt-freshman let fly and doubled the lead. It would set off the run which opened the game into a double-figure margin and allowed ECU to put it away.

All told, six players scored in double figures with Fauntleroy leading the group with 16 and Anzhané Hutton having a strong day in the post with 15 points and a team-high seven boards.

A renewed defensive effort—a point of emphasis for head coach Kim McNeill entering the season—resulted in 19 steals and 27 forced turnovers in the game. The 19 steals were the most since Nov. 9, 2023 in that win over USC Upstate (32).

Up Next
The Pirates hit the road for a big-time meeting with the Liberty Flames on Friday at 2:00 p.m.