GREENVILLE, North Carolina — University of Maryland Eastern Shore coach Fred Batchelor couldn't have been more disappointed with how his team performed on Saturday (Dec. 18) at Mount St. Mary's in what he thought should have been a winnable game for the Hawks.
Now just three days later, Eastern Shore (4-7) faces a tougher task on the road against an East Carolina (6-6) squad that is 5-1 at Williams Arena so far this season.
Batchelor is looking for answers to the team's slow starts and sluggish offense that have seen them face a 66-point combined deficit in the first two quarters of eight Division I games.
To this point in the season, he has been hesitant to make changes to the starting lineup as the team works to get ready for the start of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference season on Jan. 8 at home against Norfolk State.
Following a contest where the team wilted under a barrage of 3-pointers by the unusually deadly from long range Mountaineers, changes to the tipoff regulars aren't off the table depending on how the squad looks during Monday's late practice.
The Pirates are coming off a blow out of UNCW 79-50 on Sunday (Dec. 19) afternoon. For the third straight game, junior Taniyah Thompson got off to a hot start in the first quarter. Thompson came into the day averaging 10.5 points in the opening frame over her past two games and she was even better on Sunday. The junior guard shot 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes, outscoring UNCW 15-11 all by herself. She went on to finish the game with a career-high 31.
Thompson, a 5-foot-11 guard, leads ECU in scoring with 17.2 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 4.4 per contest. Sophomore Alexsia Rose leads the team in assists (4.2) and steals (1.8). Six-foot junior guard Danae McNeal — a Clemson transfer — is second on the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game.
Following Tuesday's contest, The Shore will have a few days off for the holiday before returning to campus in time to practice and get ready for their Dec. 28 contest at West Virginia University.
