Pirate Comeback Falls Short At Temple | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.

    PHILADELPHIA, PA.     A spirited comeback fell one point short as the East Carolina women's basketball team fell to Temple 60-59 on Sunday afternoon in McGonigle Hall.

    ECU falls to 8-14 on the year with a 1-8 AAC mark while Temple improves to 11-9 overall and 6-3 in AAC play.

    How It Happened

    Alexsia Rose powered the Pirate offense in the first quarter. The sophomore point guard assisted on each of the first three field goals for ECU and added a steal and score later on while also grabbing four rebounds. Temple took a 16-10 lead thanks to seven points from Mia Davis and five from Kyra Wood, but Taniyah Thompson bagged the final four points of the quarter to make it 16-14 after one.

    The second quarter saw Temple create some separation thanks to a cold stretch by the Pirate offense. After a pair of Thompson free throws made it 18-16, the Pirates scored just two more points, a jumper from Xianna Josephs, over the next seven and a half minutes. The Owls went on a 15-2 run to open up a 33-18 lead with a minute remaining in the first half. Paige Lyons provided a small spark in the final minute, making a free throw and then setting Tylar Bennett up for a layup to make it 35-21 in favor of Temple at the break.

    The third quarter started like the second quarter, as a jumper by Davis extended Temple's lead to 42-25 with 7:17 remaining. But then Rose grabbed a steal and followed it up with a layup. The Pirates then forced a 10 second violation which led to Rose setting Bennett up for a layup. After a Temple free throw, Thompson got to the line and buried two shots and then Da'Ja Green picked off a Temple pass and turned that into a layup. Suddenly, the deficit had shrunk to just 43-33 with 3:51 remaining in the third. The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the quarter, with a jumper by Thompson at the end of the frame making it 47-37 heading into the fourth.

    Thompson, the second leading scorer in the AAC, had gained some momentum with six points in the third, and that momentum helped her catch fire in the fourth. After the Owls scored the first point of the fourth on a Wood free throw, Thompson took over the game. First she canned a triple from the left wing followed by turning a Temple turnover into an old-fashioned three point play. Wood answered with a free throw, but Thompson again got to the basket for a layup and was fouled, making her free throw to cut the lead to 51-46.

    Thompson's brilliance did not stop on the offensive end, as she picked off a Temple pass and then raced in for a layup. After another stop, Thompson once again got to the bucket and her personal 13-1 run made it a 51-50 lead with 5:24 remaining.

    The final few minutes were tense, as East Carolina got within one multiple times but could not take the lead, while Temple could not shake the Pirates. The Owls made it 60-54 with 2:29 remaining, but Thompson answered with a jumper and then a Bennett free throw made it 60-57 with a minute left.

    ECU needed a stop and the Pirates got one with 29 seconds remaining. East Carolina went to Thompson out of a timeout and while she got to the basket, her layup fell off the rim. But Bennett was there to corral the rebound and ECU got a second chance with three seconds left. Out of the timeout, Thompson curled off a screen and was fouled from beyond the arc. The junior needed all three free throws, but she went 2-of-3 from the line. Although Jasha Clinton missed the two ensuing free throws for Temple, the Pirates could not get a final shot off before time expired.

    Pirate Notes

    Thompson finished with 29 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter. It is her seventh game of at least 20 points this season and is tied with Allison Spivey for 22nd in ECU history for career points. Thompson has now scored at least 10 points in 13 straight games and has scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games.

    Synia Johnson made her return after missing three games due to injury and led the Pirates with three steals. Rose led the squad with five assists while Thompson had a team-high six rebounds.

    Iycez Adams made her first career start for the Pirates, setting a new career-high with four blocked shots while tying her career-high with 18 minutes played.