The AU women's basketball team lost a close game to East Carolina University, 70-65, on Sunday.
The Eagles' home opener was tied at 65, with one minute to go in regulation. After East Carolina's Kelly Smith scored to put the Pirates up by four, AU turned the ball over to East Carolina's guard Crystal Wilson, who scored an easy lay-up to put the Eagles away.
AU was down by seven going into halftime but came back strong in the second half, despite never having the lead. Eagles' forward Michelle Kirk scored seven points in the first four minutes of the second half and ended up with a game-high 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Kirk also had six rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes of play.
Another factor in AU's second half surge can be attributed to the fact that the Eagles only shot two free throws in the first half while 14 in the second half. Kirk is averaging 15 points a game through four games.
According to Kirk, lack of effort was not the reason that the Eagles lost. "We had a good strategy, we just have to execute better," Kirk said after the game. "We played hard. We played well the whole game. It was just those last couple of possessions that it came down to."
AU held East Carolina to only six free-throws in the first half, but could not keep that going in the second half, letting the Pirates shoot 16 free-throws.
"If we could have kept them off the foul line a few more times it would have been a different outcome," said AU Head Coach Matt Corkery.
The Eagles' center, Ohemaa Nyanin, came close to converting a double-double with a team-leading nine rebounds to go along with eight points in 23 minutes.
Prior to Sunday's game, no one had come within 10 points of beating East Carolina.
"Obviously we didn't get the outcome that we wanted," Corkery said. "But looking at the game from a big picture perspective, I was proud of the way that we played the game."
Corkery said he sees good things coming for the Eagles in the future due to the chemistry that this team has.
"Kids play hard for each other," Corkery said.
AU's next game comes on Tuesday, when they take on the Highlanders from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Highlanders are coming off an impressive 63-50 win over Maine on Saturday to even their record to 2-2.
"We've got to learn from the past game and get ready for the next game on Tuesday," Corkery said.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
