University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Set to Host East Carolina
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss logged its first Conference USA win of the season on Thursday and now looks to extend the streak to two when the Lady Eagles host East Carolina on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Lady Eagle contest can be heard on WHXB-FM 96.5 or at www.SouthernMiss.com with Josh West, voice of the Lady Eagles, providing the play-by-play action and legendary head coach Kay James as his color analyst.
The Athletic Department will honor two former track and field coaches - Marshall Bell and Wayne Williams - at half-time in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Southern Miss Preview
The Lady Eagles (7-15, 1-8) are coming off their first road win of the season with a 62-54 win over second-place Memphis in league play. Jamierra Faulkner recorded her fifth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 20 points to go with 10 assists, two blocks and two steals in 40 minutes of play. Tanecka Carey turned in her best offensive output in league play after scoring 17 points and Nitesha Pierce chipped in 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the visitors. For the second-straight game, the Lady Eagles shot 50 percent for the game including a 71 percent performance in a half.
Carey and Faulkner lead the team in scoring with averages of 15.7 and 15.8 points, respectively. Carey also leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game. As a team, USM is shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 61.9 percent from the line while averaging 60.0 points and 36.9 rebounds per outing.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina has dropped its last 12 games and enters the contest with a 6-15 overall record and 0-8 in league play. The Pirates lost to Tulane on Thursday night by a score of 63-49 in Greenville. Kristine Mial scored a game-high 15 points and collected nine rebounds to lead the East Carolina offensively. Chareya Smith tossed in 10 points for ECU. The Pirates scored 17 second chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.
Shala Hodges is the only Pirate averaging in double figures with an 11.0 point per game average, but Chareya Smith is right behind at 9.9 points per outing. Britny Edwards is the top rebounder with 7.9 rebounds per game. As a team, the ECU offense is averaging 57.2 points per game while shooting 35.9 percent from the field and 59.2 percent from the line. East Carolina is averaging 39.7 rebounds per contest. The Pirates are forcing their opponents into 20.6 turnovers per game and coming up with 11.3 steals per game. Coach Heather Macy is in her second season at East Carolina.
Series Notes: Southern Miss vs. East Carolina
This will be the 18th meeting between the two teams dating back to 2002 season. East Carolina leads the series 10-7 as the Pirates won the initial meeting. The teams have played two overtime games with Southern Miss winning both. The teams split the series last season with each winning at home.
What's Next
Following the East Carolina game, Southern Miss hits the road for a nationally televised matchup against SMU on Feb. 12 for a 1 p.m. tipoff. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
