GREENVILLE, North Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore dug itself a huge hole on Saturday (Nov. 23) at East Carolina scoring just 11 points in the first half. A big third quarter where junior Amanda Carney (Old Mill, New Jersey) scored 14 points and the Hawks (1-5) outscored the Pirates 22-13 was enough to cut the lead to single digits, but in the end ECU did enough for a 57-42 victory.
"At the end of the day it's about hitting some shots," Eastern Shore coach Fred Batchelor said. "You hit a couple shots, it's give you a little confidence and you get a little more pep in your step. It was just disappointing the way we played that first 20 minutes because I thought we had all the opportunities in the world."
The Hawks turned the ball over 16 times in the first half and shot just 4-of-25 from the field. Freshman Makayla Adams (Bowie, Maryland) led the team in scoring at the half with six points and had three of the four baskets.
"I thought a lot of it had a lot to do with just poor handling of the basketball," Batchelor said. "I thought they had a basic three-quarter court press that we have seen before, that we seemed to struggle with. We had to find a way to figure that out. Some of that is on me because we weren't able to do it. We just have to work to try and continue to get better."
The Pirates (2-4) pushed the lead to 21 points to start the second half before a 3-pointer by Adams gave the Hawks their first bucket with 6:35 left in the third.
The Shore went on a run from there with Carney going 4-for-5 from behind the arc over the next six minutes and Adams and senior Ksenia Popovich (Moscow, Russia) each putting in a basket. A triple by sophomore Brooklyn Bailey (Rock Hill, South Carolina) cut the ECU lead to seven (43-26) with 8:53 to go in the game, but that is as close as the Hawks could claw back.
"We are having those moments in time where we are digging holes for ourselves that are making it real tough for us," Batchelor said. "I thought we came out of the half and we showed a lot more in the second half. We hit some shots which was a big difference, but we just have to continue to work to get better."
Carney's career-high 14 led The Shore in scoring to go along with a pair of rebounds and three assists. Adams — who made her first career start — chipped in 11, five rebounds and two assists.
"She was our leading scorer at the half," Batchelor said. "I think it shows the future is bright with some of these kids we have, but we have to get better, better perimeter play, guard play and get better at taking care of the basketball. I thought we handed them the ball often and we were tentative to attack and make them pay for running from one side of the quart to the other to trap us. I think it makes it tough on everybody when we aren't getting the type of play we need form the start."
Adrienne Jones (Baltimore, Maryland) led the Hawks in rebounding with six, but a lower body injury caused her to miss the entire second half. Freshman Jamaya Blanks (Greensboro, North Carolina) came off the bench to grab five rebounds to go with two points.
The Hawks will have a short holiday break and will return home to face Greensboro College on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.
