GREENVILLE — Adversity has been the name of the game for East Carolina’s women’s basketball team. The Pirates had lost a half dozen consecutive games heading into Saturday’s showdown with No. 20 South Florida.

It had been a tough stretch for them. Their last successful outing was an 80-62 win over Eastern Washington on Nov. 27. Since then, ECU has been challenged with the likes of No. 19 Northwestern, No. 2 South Carolina and a Chattanooga squad that was ranked in the preseason polls.

There was a physical toll taken, too. Saturday marked the end of a 42-day span between home games for the Pirates. The travel, coupled with the emotional and mental fatigue, has made for a trialing stretch.

After a close overtime loss at Tulsa on Dec. 28, the Pirates kicked off the New Year with another heartbreaker. A turnover set up I’Tiana Taylor for the game-tying layup with just 12 seconds left to play. The Bulls had the last possession and head coach Jose Fernandez looked to leading scorer Courtney Williams to take the last shot.

“When you have a game like this, it comes down to possessions,” Fernandez said. “The last play, the last minute, the last two minutes are magnetized because that’s what everybody remembers … It came down to the last play … We were able to go late-clock with a flat on ball screen with (Williams) and she read the defense good and went middle.”

The shot went in, giving Williams a game-high 20 points and the winning basket. The 61-59 loss makes it seven in a row for ECU.

“I’m heartbroken because these kids have to go through such a difficult stretch and lose games in such a difficult way,” said Pirates head coach Heather Macy. “That is a tough way to lose a basketball game, especially the way they competed. I think that’s what you see with this group. They’re a group that never lets up and they never let in. So, we’re always giving us a chance at the end.”

The Pirates, as usual, showed tremendous resolve late in the game. They saw a 34-29 halftime lead evaporate when USF started the second half on a 10-2 run. Williams led the streak with six points for the Bulls.

The visitors kept their distance, building their lead to 11 points with 8:14 left to play. The Pirates didn’t let go and chipped away at their deficit late in the game. Jada Payne, who led the team with 19 points, got a layup through contact and earned a trip to the charity stripe for a three-point play. She converted on the free throw to make it 57-51 with 5:12 left.

Williams tried to save the ball from going out of bounds, but ended up passing it right to Payne under her own basket. That basket left a four-point lead for the Bulls until a pair of free throws by DeVaughn Gray hit a pair of free throws to set up Taylor’s tying basket.

“What I’ve always heard is that, when you put on purple and gold, you just don’t quit,” Macy said. “It’s just not what Pirates do.”

Macy finds solace in this challenging period of the season. She hopes these experiences pay dividends later on in the year.

“What we’ve figured is, for such a time as this that we’re having to go through this, because when we come out on the other end, I truly believe we’ll be better and we’ll reap the rewards of this stretch that we’ve been going through,” Macy said.

There’s more value to this than what will be seen on the court. The adversity the Pirates face now will help them as they continue to face challenges throughout the rest of their lives.

“I think long term for the kids in their lives, it’s real important,” Macy said. “I hope they learn something through this. If you continue to stay the course … All of a sudden, you’ll get right up out of that and success is two steps away.

“That’s my hope that they figure that out to win basketball games, obviously. But my hope is that they take that while they’re 20 years old and, 10 years from now they look at it and go, ‘Hey, I learned not to quit while I was at East Carolina.’”