Spring Break
Pirates hold off pesky Mountaineers
Kellen Holtzman
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Sports
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A score by Terry with 2:12 left to play in regulation gave the Pirates (2-0) a 73-71 lead. The senior corralled an outlet pass from fellow guard Crystal Wilson to set up the eventual game-winning layup.
"A year ago we may have lost the game," said ECU coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. "But we were able to keep our composure and make some shots at the end…I was really proud of our basketball team that we were able to come out and get a victory."
The Mountaineers cut the lead to 74-73 with 1:20 left in the game, but Allison Spivey answered with two free throws to give the Pirates a three-point advantage.
After an ASU turnover on the ensuing possession, Terry knocked down a fade-away jump shot from the corner to put the game away with 24 ticks left on the clock.
The ice-cool Terry shot 13-for-20 from the field and buried three shots from behind the arc. The Georgia native's timely deliveries were crucial in a cat-and-mouse game that featured seven ties and 24 lead changes.
"She had a lot of big shots for us and a couple in the last few minutes that were huge," Baldwin-Tener said. "She was part of the great plays at the end of the game. It was wonderful that she had a game like that."
Baldwin-Tener is expecting the team to get a full workout in the rebounding department after being beat out on the boards, 53-35.
"We've been working on rebounding and free throw shooting all season," said Terry. "Hopefully, sooner or later we'll be able to come through and get above 70 percent on the free throw line and out-rebound our opponent."
One of the players she will look to for that rebounding is center Jean Best. Best, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Wilson, chipped in with 13 points off the bench.
"Jean's come a long way in two months for us," Baldwin-Tener said. "She's really gained a lot of momentum in individual workouts and preseason conditioning. I'm really looking forward to how good she is going to be come February."
The Pirates and the Mountaineers dueled it out from the opening tip-off, with the first half featuring six combined three-pointers between the two teams. The largest lead of the half was ECU's 26-21 lead with 8:03 remaining.
Terry paced the Pirates in the opening half with 13 points. Her speed in the open court kept ASU on its heels for the entire night, as the Pirates outscored ASU, 20-2, in fast break points.
"We try to fast break all the time," Terry said. "We've been trying to do that since I got here as a freshman. When we get the rebound, we need to go."
Point guard Jasmine Young scored half of her 12 points in the first and finished a perfect 2-for-2 from long-range. Center Lauren Cochran chipped in with eight points.
The intrastate match up also pitted ECU assistant coach Adrienne Shuler against her former players. Shuler spent six seasons as head coach at ASU and was responsible for recruiting most of the team's players to Boone.
The Pirates will return to action Friday night at 7 p.m. against Presbyterian.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
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