AUSTIN, T.X. (WNCT/ECU) – No. 13 East Carolina women’s basketball team will take on No. 4 Texas on Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 10 p.m eastern.

Pirates aim to counter Longhorns’ size advantage with quickness, ‘team rebounding’

How We Got Here
The Pirates won three games in three days to shock the American and take home the 2023 conference championship. Wins over No. 6 Tulane, No. 2 Memphis and No. 4 Houston sent ECU dancing after being picked 11th in the AAC preseason poll as voted on by the coaches.

In the AAC Championship Game, the Pirates trailed Houston by as many as 11, but came to life in the second half. They stayed locked in on defense and finally took a lid off Houston’s basket to take the lead and eventually the tie into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, Amiya Joyner hit a huge and-one bucket with a minute and change to play to give the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish.

Joyner also made a crucial block with just 3.2 seconds to play while Micah Dennis came up big at the foul line with some late free throws.

ECU women arrive in Texas for NCAA Tournament

Scouting Texas
The Longhorns have had a superb season that saw them win a Big 12 regular season title before falling short to Iowa State in the conference championship game. Texas stands at 11th in the NET, a credit to their quality while boasting five wins over ranked opponents, including a 67-45 road romp over then-No. 13 Oklahoma in Norman.

‘Inside Pirate Athletics’: March 13 broadcast at WNCT.com with Kim McNeill

Texas spreads the wealth in a way that ought to please basketball enthusiasts with five players scoring in double figures and one more sitting at 9.4 points per game. The Longhorns also have seven players contributing four-plus boards per contest.

Rori Harmon leads the squad with a whopping 213 assists on the year as well as 67 steals. Taylor Jones has a team-best 53 blocks to go with 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Series History
Saturday’s First Round matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the Pirates and Longhorns.