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Women's basketball falls at ECU, 67-61

PostPosted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:13 am
by PonyPride
From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Fall In Regular-Season Finale

GREENVILLE, N.C. (SMU) – The Mustangs dropped the regular-season finale to the ECU Pirates, 67-61, on Monday night inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

In the early going, the Mustangs were tied with ECU at seven midway through the first but a Pirate run put SMU down four after one quarter of action. ECU was able to extend the advantage in the second and took a 15-point edge into the break. Johnasia Cash did most of the damage for the Mustangs, accounting for 11 first-half points.

In her last regular season game, Alicia Froling aided the Mustangs in cutting into the Pirate edge in the third. Froling contributed eight points in the period as SMU worked the lead to a manageable five points heading into the fourth. SMU also relied on strong shooting in the third, connecting on 10-of-12 attempts including Froling's 4-of-4. The Mustangs closed the period on a 7-0 run punctuated by Kayla White's three pointer near the close.

ECU responded in the fourth and were able to work the lead back to nine points with under three minutes to play. A couple buckets by Kayla White on consecutive possessions gave the Mustangs life. After ECU jumped up by seven with 30 seconds remaining, White again connected, this time on a three that, shaved the lead to four. ECU was able to make their free throws down the stretch cutting away the SMU comeback opportunity.

Four Mustangs scored in double figures in the contest including Paige Bayliss who dropped a career high 14 points on the Pirates. The freshman shot 5-of-7 from the field and hit 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Kayla White finished with a team-high 17 including 3-of-6 of six from behind the arc. White finished as the Mustangs' leading scorer in conference play with 10.6 point-per-game. Ariana Whitfield did her damage in the assist column racking up seven dimes. The Mustangs assisted on 17 of 24 made baskets.

ECU hit 80% from the line (16-of-20) and were able to hold the edge in points off turnovers, 16-4. Lashonda Monk had 19 points for the Pirates and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.

ECU improves to 15-14 on the season with a 6-10 mark in the American Conference. The Mustangs fall to 11-18 with a 5-11 conference record at the regular season's conclusion.

The Mustangs will wait and see what seed they receive at the upcoming American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament in Uncasville, Conn. SMU's opening game will be on Friday, March 8 with a time and opponent to be determined.