Blackbirds Edged By East Carolina, 80-73

(boxscore)

12/29/06 -- Despite numerous comeback attempts, the Long Island University women's basketball team fell to East Carolina, 80-73, at Williams Arena on Friday night. Cherie Mills' 24 points proved to be too much as the senior came off the bench to torment Long Island. Freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) led the Blackbirds with 23 points in the loss. The Pirates built a nine-point lead in the second half that Long Island could not overcome.

Long Island whittled its deficit down to three points with under five minutes to go on a pair of Nainima free throws, but the Pirates would stretch out their advantage in a run that saw Mills net six points.

East Carolina (5-8) had a quick start out of the gate, jumping out to a 12-4 lead. The Pirates scored 16 points in the game's first eight minutes using an up-tempo offensive attack that preyed on the Blackbirds' early inability to get back on defense. Long Island (7-5) began to fight its way back with a three-pointer by senior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio), her first of the season, which made it a 16-11 game.

The Blackbirds would cut the Pirate lead to two when senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) was double-teamed in the paint and found classmate Marquita Thompson (Garland, Texas), who unfurled a spin move to her right to hit a jumper. Thompson was fouled on the play and the completion of the old-fashioned three-point play narrowed the East Carolina edge to 28-26.

Long Island tightened the screws defensively on the next possession, forcing East Carolina into a three-second call. Coming off the turnover, Nainima drained a three-pointer to give the Blackbirds their first lead since the 19-minute mark. Long Island would build a four-point lead with under four minutes to play in the half, but ECU's Cherie Mills rattled off four straight buckets and LaCoya Terry added a fifth to send the Pirates to the locker room with a 39-33 lead.

The Blackbirds clawed their way back from a nine-point second-half deficit, led by a huge three-pointer from freshman Minna Sten (Turku, Finland). Sten, seeing her first significant action, finished with seven points.

Four Pirates scored in double figures, as Impris Manning and Jasmine Young each added 14 points to complement Mills' 24. Terry finished with 10 points. For the Blackbirds, junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) scored 13 points and Thompson netted 12. East Carolina won the battle of the boards, 35-25, with Mills tallying a game-high seven caroms. Nainima and Whippy each pulled down six boards for the 'Birds.

Long Island will play its fourth road game in a row when the Blackbirds visit conference foe Monmouth on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m.