Pirates Hold First Practice of 2019-20 Season | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the news and information section for East Carolina University men's and women's sports.


    GREENVILLE, N.C.     The ECU women's basketball team held its first team practice of the 2019-20 season Friday afternoon inside the Smith-Williams Center. It was the first official practice in charge for first-year head coach Kim McNeill and her staff as the Pirates prepare for the season-opener on November 6.

    "It was great, the energy was really good," McNeill said. "The girls were really excited. We've been working for a while now so it's continuing to move on and getting used to being out here a little bit longer than an hour."

    Along with McNeill and her staff, five newcomers took the court for the first time. They joined a group of eight returners which includes All-AAC Third-Team member Lashonda Monk and leading rebounder Raven Johnson.

    "In the preseason, we're limited to the amount of hours we can put in with the girls," McNeill added. "The most we could be out here was an hour to an hour and 15 minutes and today we're here closer to three hours. So, it's just getting used to being back out here that long, getting used to being on your feet that long and getting used to sustaining that energy for three hours."

    ECU is coming off a 16-15 season that finished in the quarterfinals of the AAC Championship. The Pirates are scheduled to play 14 games at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum, including the first four of the season. The season opener is scheduled for Nov. 6 and will be the team's annual Education Day as the Pirates host Middle Tennessee at 11 a.m.

    "We're just continuing to build our defensive mentality and putting in our system," said McNeill. "Just getting better offensively on some things we want to do. Out here right now, everybody is new, no one knows the system so it's about continuing to grow and learning to play with each other."

    Season tickets are now on sale with general admission seating priced at $45. Fans interested in buying season tickets for the upcoming campaign can make their purchase by utilizing ECU's Online Ticket Center or calling the ECU Ticket Office at 1-800-342-5328.