Turnover-plagued Pirates drop Black Friday bout to UNLV, 64-49

by | Nov 30, 2024

By ECUPirates.com

LAS VEGAS – The East Carolina women’s basketball team lost its second-straight contest, this time at the hands of the UNLV Lady Rebels on Friday afternoon in the Thomas & Mack Center. Amiya Joyner was the lone Pirate in double figures with 11 in the game.

The Pirates (3-4) got off to a sluggish start again on Friday with seven turnovers and just one field goal in the first six-plus minutes of action. A flurry of points from Bobbi Smith in the latter stage of the first quarter stemmed the bleeding a bit, but a hot-shooting 8-12 start for UNLV (6-2) made it a double-digit deficit for the visitors after just 10 minutes played.

ECU flirted with getting back into the game in the second quarter, a few times getting within single digit, including on a nice and-one jump shot from Jayla Hearp at the midway point of the period. However, UNLV responded in kind and put on a short 5-0 burst to end the half and equal their largest lead of the day at 14 points going into the break.

The hosts kept pushing the lead with a 7-2 run to start the second half, pushing the margin to 19 early in the third.  The Pirates closed the period on a 6-0 run of their own to cut the margin down to 13 with 10 minutes to play, keyed by excellent hustle from Joyner and Khia Miller, whose and-one finish with 5.6 to play gave the team life heading into fourth.

Despite inching to within 11, the Pirates never managed to get the game to single digits again and Aaliyah Alexander’s shot clock buzzer-beating three with under a minute remaining was perhaps a fitting way to close the game as UNLV poured in seven threes on the day, compared to the Pirates’ zero. Joyner scored nine of ECU’s 11 in the closing quarter as the team simply could not get enough points on the board to make it a real game.

For the game, it was another difficult day offensively for ECU with 22 turnovers, amounting to 51 in total during the two-game Las Vegas swing, the most in a two-game stretch since January 2024 when the team had 24 giveaways against UTSA and Memphis – two games which the Pirates won.

At 48 percent from the field on the game, UNLV was able to keep their hot shooting season going, adding a 39 percent clip from behind the three-point line and while the Pirates did manage to shoot 37 percent from the field, 0-6 from three-point ranged partnered with the turnovers made winning a difficult proposition.

Up Next
The Pirates return to the familiar confines of Minges Coliseum on Sunday, Dec.8 as they host Elon for a 1 p.m. matinee.

Check out Pirate Radio

Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube

Top Headlines

Gavin Williams sharp in home win for Guardians

Gavin Williams got the run support early and then he did the rest. WATCH: Gavin Williams strikes out two The ECU alum and Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher picked up his first win of the season as the Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-1, on Thursday. Williams...

ECU softball team falls to North Carolina in nine innings, 7-6

The East Carolina softball team held tough with host North Carolina for nine innings before the Tar Heels prevailed, 7-6, on Wednesday to end the Pirates' four-game win streak. The Pirates (23-17) now travel to Wichita State for a three-game series that starts Friday....

ECU women’s basketball star Amiya Joyner enters transfer portal

Amiya Joyner, who won a state title at Farmville Central and helped the East Carolina women’s program reach the NCAA Tournament in 2023 announced late Wednesday she was entering the transfer portal. Joyner posted the news on her X account just after 11 p.m., saying in...

Pirates in baseball: Burleson, Cardinals tame Skenes, Pirates

Alec Burleson had a hand in helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Tuesday. #Cardinals 4 @ #Pirates 1 [T6-0o]: Alec Burleson singles (8): ground ball to RF Hit: 🔥95.8mph, 18ft, -9°, .200xBA Pitch: 82.7mph Curveball (RHP P.Skenes, 4)...

East Carolina drops 4-1 decision to NC State

The East Carolina baseball team got behind early and never caught NC State in a 4-1 loss Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates dropped to 20-14 with the loss ahead of this weekend's AAC series at Charlotte. Below is more from ECU Sports Information....