NEW ORLEANS, La. – The East Carolina women’s basketball team fell the Tulane Green Wave, 64-56, on Saturday afternoon in Devlin Fieldhouse. Though it’s always hard to see a winning streak end, the Pirates looked like a team which had played a triple-overtime thriller just days ago but will still have a fighting crack at the AAC No. 2 seed.

East Carolina (20-8, 11-5 AAC) came out sluggish, trailing for over 16 minutes of game time in the first half while allowing Tulane (16-11, 7-8 AAC) to close on a 8-0 run before the break to push the margin to 10.

Things did not improve in the second half as the Pirates simply could not score enough to hang around in the game – tired legs will do that to you. Tulane was able to push the margin to 16 through three quarters before the ECU made a run at it in the fourth quarter.

The Pirates were able to draw as close as five but some clutch shooting for Tulane sealed the deal late. Triples by Marta Galic and Kierra Middleton were backbreakers as the Green Wave pushed the lead back over double digits where it hovered the remainder of the game.

Statistically, the Pirates were led by Amiya Joyner with six points and 14 rebounds, though the freshman phenom did not manage a basket after the first quarter of play. Danae McNeal scored 24 on the game but was not as effective defensively as she battled foul trouble in the game. In total, defense and fouls proved to be a problem for the Pirates as the team only managed six steals on the game – well shy of their season average of 13.3.

With the loss, the Pirates will now look to others, needing Memphis to lose one of their final two games to claim the No. 2 seed at the AAC Tournament.

Up Next
The Pirates will be off for a while for their bye week before returning to action at the AAC Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. The team has already secured a bye and as such will not open the tournament until March 7.