Women's Basketball Home
Lady Pirates Earn First Home Victory In Tough 59-55 Fashion Over Southern
 
Cherie Mills' 21 points, 14 rebounds vault ECU to Lady Pirate Invitational Championship

 
Cherie Mills
 
Cherie Mills
 
 

Dec. 3, 2005

Final Stats

ECU-Southern
Download Free Acrobat Reader

GREENVILLE, N.C.--The East Carolina women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the CPW's/Atavola Market Café Lady Pirate Invitational with a 59-55 victory over Southern University. The Lady Pirates will now face-off against Drexel, who won opening game of the tournament over Idaho, with tip-off slated for 3 p.m. at Minges Coliseum.

The Lady Pirates (4-1) returned home after spending the first four games on the road, closing out a tough second half battle to earn the victory. Leading the way for East Carolina was Cherie Mills with a 21-point, 14 rebound effort, which provided an inside game that the Lady Pirates would rely upon down the stretch. It marks the fourth consecutive game in which Mills has scored at least 20 points or more, and her second double-double of the season.

Leading 36-31 at the intermission, ECU would have its lead reduced to three at the 17:00 minute mark of the second half following the Jaguars Indi Johnson connecting from outside. Just over one minute later, a second three-point shot by Rolanda Monroe cut the Southern deficit to one point at 41-40. ECU would respond with a run of its own, assuming a seven point advantage at the 11:36 mark following two baskets by Cherie Mills and a layup by Jessica Slack.

 

 

With just over three minutes remaining in the game, two turnovers opened the door for Southern to get back into the contest. Monroe again came through in the clutch, this time with a layup, to cut the lead to 55-53 in favor of the Pirates. Over the next 1:32 of the game, ECU hit 4-of-6 from the free throw line to close out the victory.

"We have a really young team and as you can tell sometimes it really shows," said head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. "Sometimes we make bad decisions but everyday they come out and they want to compete and they want to win. I guess that every game we play is going to be really close this whole year because it is teaching us a lot by playing in these close games. "

The CPW's/Atavola Market Café Lady Pirate Invitational resumes Sunday at 1 p.m. with the consolation game between Idaho and Southern at Minges Coliseum. The Lady Pirates take on Drexel in the championship game slated to begin at 3 p.m.

Southern vs. East Carolina
December 3, 2005
Game Notes

  • East Carolina scored 32 of its 59 total points in the paint.
  • Cherie Mills had her fourth straight contest of at least 20 points with a 21 point performance. She also accounted for her second double-double of the season with 14 rebounds, the previous coming against Ohio (11/25--27 points, 12 reb.)
  • Gabriela Husarova scored seven points, all coming in the first half.
  • The Lady Pirates led for the second consecutive game at the half with a 36-31 advantage.
  • The 4-1 start by ECU marks the best start since the 1998-99 season (5-0).
  • East Carolina's inside dominance continued as the Lady Pirates out-rebounded the opposition for the third time in five games.

    Lady Pirates Head Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener
    On Cherie Mills: "Cherie [Mills] is doing a great job. A couple of times today we forced it into her, and they put two or three people on her, and it was very hard for her to make anything happen. She was big on the boards too and I thought she played very physical against their players."
    On Playing Drexel: "Drexel is going to be hard for us to defend. They essentially are playing with five guards. The run a five out, and a couple of their guards have some really good size. We are going to have to really get down and guard the drive and the ball. They have got a couple of really good players and we are going to have to regroup and be ready to play tomorrow."

    CPW's/Atavola Market Café Lady Pirate Invitational
    First Game
    December 3, 2005

    Drexel wins opening game 64-44, moves on to face East Carolina at 3 p.m. Sunday

    The Drexel women's basketball team opened the first game of the CPW's/Atavola Market Café Lady Pirate Invitational with a 64-44 victory over Idaho in front of a crowd of 795 on hand at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

    The Dragons (2-2) shot 54.3% for the contest with Nicole Hester and Narissa Suber sharing team-high honors with 12 points each, while Kira Karlstrom added 11. Hester grabbed 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.

    Leading the way for Idaho (3-3) was MacKenzie Flynn with 13 points and teammate Emily Faurholt with 11, as the only two Vandal players to reach double figures in scoring.

    Drexel connected on 13-of-23 shots from the perimeter to take a 31-21 lead into the half. Guard Karlstrom, who started at guard, led the Dragons with nine points. Meanwhile Faurholt, who played in every minute of the first half, led the Vandals with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting.