Chicago, Ill. -- The East Carolina women's basketball team dropped its first Conference USA game of the season Friday night as they fell to nationally-ranked DePaul, 99-58, inside the DePaul Athletic Center.

The Pirates (6-10, 2-1) fell behind early 23-10 in the first nine minutes of the game and never recovered as the Blue Demons cruised to their 12th win of the season and drew even in C-USA with a 1-1 record.

Senior guard Jennifer Jackson sparked a 9-2 run to close the gap to 46-26 after completing a three-point play and then draining her lone three-pointer of the night with 1:58 remaining in the half. DePaul opened the second half with a 14-6 run to put the game out of reach.

ECU continued their dominance on the glass as they out-rebounded DePaul 33-28 on the night, highlighted by Nicole Days six defensive boards. She also netted eight point, the second most by a Pirate on the night behind Viola Cooper's team-high 12 points. Cooper connected on 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

Freshman Allie Quigley led six Blue Demons in double figures with 16. Preseason C-USA Player of the Year Khara Smith was held to 13 points and four rebounds.

The Pirates will travel to Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 16 to take on Marquette in the Al McGuire Center at 1 p.m. (EST). Pirate fans can follow all the action on WITN-TV Channel 7 and C-SET TV.

East Carolina vs. No. 21 DePaul
Jan. 14, 2005
Post Game Notes