FORT WORTH, Texas – The East Carolina women’s basketball team defeated the Tulane Green Wave, 69-58, in the AAC Quarterfinal Round on Tuesday night in Dickies Arena. Micah Dennis and Synia Johnson led the Pirates with 17 and 16 points while Amiya Joyner grabbed a record-setting 19 rebounds.
 
East Carolina (21-9) led by as many as 19 in the third quarter but allowed Tulane (18-13) to climb back into the game thanks to some lengthy stretches without much scoring before opening a lead back up and putting the game away.
 
Johnson was awesome in the first half with her 12 points and two steals, leading the team to an 11-point halftime lead. The Pirates opened the second half strong with an early 8-0 run to push the margin to 19 before Tulane used a 9-0 run of their own to cut it to 10. ECU did take a seven-point margin into the final quarter before Tulane opened with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 48.
 
The Pirates would not be deterred as they answered with yet another run, responding to the body blow with a knockout punch. A 10-2 spurt kicked off by a Morgan Moseley bucket and finished with a Johnson score put ECU up for good. Despite a basket by Tulane to cut the lead back down to six, Dennis drilled the dagger three with just 2:34 remaining in the game.
 
The Pirates used their defensive pressure to ice the game, leading by as much as 14 in the final minute and sending the team on to their first AAC Semifinal since the program’s first year in the league in 2014-15.
 
Though she didn’t find much success scoring, Joyner found great success on the glass. She broke the AAC single-game tournament rebounding record with her 19 boards, also tying the eighth most in a game in ECU history.
 
Up Next
The Pirates will tip off the AAC Semifinal Round at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST as they take on second-seeded Memphis.