Balanced Attack Leads HU Lady Pirates to Sixth Straight Win

NORFOLK, Virginia  –  The Hampton University women’s basketball team had four players score in double figures on Saturday afternoon en route to a 76-41 upending of rival Norfolk State at Echols Hall.

It was Hampton’s sixth straight win, and the Lady Pirates (15-5, 6-0 MEAC) have won the last 14 meetings with the Spartans.

Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) scored 22 points for the second straight game to lead the Lady Pirates, while senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) and junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) each had 15 points.

Avant added a team-high 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, while Bennett tied her career high with six assists. Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) added 11 points and four assists.

Hampton opened the game on a 9-2 run, taking that lead at the 16:51 mark after a fastbreak layup from Hamilton. Bennett hit a 3-pointer with 14:27 left in the first half to give the Lady Pirates a 14-4 lead.

Kashay Barnes cut the lead to 16-8 at the 12:48 mark with a jumper, but the Lady Pirates answered with an 11-0 run after Avant hit a pair of free throws with 9:15 left in the half to take a 27-8 lead. Allen hit two of her career-high six 3-pointers during that run.

A Bennett layup at the 5:20 mark put Hampton up 31-10, and Avant added a layup at the 3:14 mark to put the Lady Pirates up 35-13. The Spartans never got closer than within 20 from that point forward, and the Lady Pirates went up 40-16 with 1:40 left in the half on an Allen trey.

Hampton went into the half up 43-20, shooting 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

Allen added a 3-pointer with 11:42 left in the second half to put the Lady Pirates up 55-27, kicking off a Hampton 13-4 run that culminated with a trey from sophomore guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.) with 8:16 left to play to put the Lady Pirates up 68-31.

Cole hit two free throws with 4:43 left to play to give Hampton its largest lead at 72-33.

The Lady Pirates set their third-highest scoring margin of the season, while also recording their third-largest margin of victory in 2012-13.

The Lady Pirates shot a season-best 42.4 percent (25-for-59) from the floor, while hitting a season-best 10 3-pointers and going 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton also out-rebounded the Spartans 43-32 and turned 19 Norfolk State turnovers into 25 points.

Norfolk State (3-15, 1-6 MEAC) shot just 28.6 percent (16-for-56) from the floor and missed all five 3-point attempts. The Spartans went 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Aivah Parham led the Spartans with 12 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they square off against rival Howard at the HU Convocation Center at 7 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.


COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION