GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women’s basketball dropped a home contest to Florida Atlantic, 64-48, on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. The Owls’ Mya Perry led all scorers in the game with 29 points.
The Pirates (8-7, 0-3 AAC) led the game at halftime but it was a pair of runs by Florida Atlantic (9-1, 1-1 AAC) — 13-0 and 12-0, respectively — in the final two quarters which allowed the visitors to jump in front and finally pull away for a decisive victory.
It looked to be a return to form for ECU at times in the first half, taking a lead in the second quarter after a slow start from the field. After making just two of their first 18 attempts from the field, the Pirates got going as they settled into the flow of the game and took that halftime lead paced by Amiya Joyner’s 12 points and seven rebounds at the break. Joyner would struggle mightily in the second half, however, as she finished with just 13 and nine.
The Pirates, paced by Joyner along with Tatyana Wyche’s eight, were dominant on the boards again on Saturday, taking a 45-34 total margin including 17 on the offensive glass; However — and it was a big however, the Pirates only cashed those 17 offensive boards in for nine total second chance points.
Conversely, the turnover bug lingered still for the ladies in Purple and Gold as the Owls turned 25 total turnovers, including 10 live-ball turnovers, into 25 points off. It was the team’s third straight game of 20-or-more giveaways. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic cared well for the ball with just 14 turnovers of their own, nearly erased entirely by 11 steals as a group.
The shooting issues the Pirates faced at the beginning of the game never quite went away despite leveling off somewhat, finishing the day just 2-14 from deep and making fewer than 20 field goals for the sixth game on the season. The team made just eight field goals in the entire second half.
With the loss, ECU drops to 0-3 in league play for the third time in the Kim McNeill era and the sixth time since joining the American in the 2014-15 season.
Up Next
The Pirates will look to use their bye week to find a spark before returning home to host Tulane next Saturday, January 11 for a 2 p.m. contest.
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