The Lady Pirates (23-5, 14-0 MEAC) are one win shy of tying the program Div. I record for consecutive wins and clinched their third straight MEAC regular season title – and the corresponding No. 1 seed in the MEAC Tournament, which will be held March 11-16 in Norfolk, Va.
Hampton, which has not lost so far in 2013, won 15 straight games in the 1997-98 season.
Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) led the Lady Pirates with 19 points and 15 rebounds, recording her MEAC-high 17th double-double of the season. Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) added 12 points, all in the first half, and junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) chipped in 11 points.
Bennett also had nine rebounds.
After the Lady Rattlers cut Hampton’s lead to 6-4 at the 17:49 mark on a layup from Andrea Lacy, the Lady Pirates answered with a 9-0 run, taking a 15-4 lead with 15:14 left in the first half following a 3-pointer from junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.).
Avant hit a layup with 12:12 left in the half to put the Lady Pirates up 17-6.
Keturah Martin hit a jumper at the 10:43 mark to cut Hampton’s lead to 19-11, but the Lady Pirates went on a 12-0 run to take a 31-11 lead after an Allen jumper with 3:09 left in the half.
FAMU did not score after Martin’s jumper until a jumper from Jaleesa Blue at the 2:21 mark.
The Lady Pirates went into the half with a 33-13 lead, thanks mostly to holding the Lady Rattlers to just six first-half field goals.
Florida A&M opened the second half on a 10-3 run, cutting the Lady Pirates’ lead to 36-23 with 14:57 left after a 3-pointer from Jasmine Grice. Hampton then scored six in a row to take a 42-23 lead after sophomore guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.) hit a free throw at the 11:59 mark.
From that point on, FAMU would get no closer than within 15, cutting Hampton’s lead to 50-35 with 5:59 to play after a fastbreak layup from Grice. Hampton went on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the night, going up 59-37 with 1:19 to play after an Avant jumper.
Hampton has now won seven straight against the Lady Rattlers.
The Lady Pirates shot 34.2 percent (25-for-73) from the floor, hitting five of their 26 3-pointers (19.2 percent) and hitting four of their nine free throws (44.4 percent). Hampton held a 53-42 edge on the glass and turned 17 FAMU turnovers into 15 points.
The Lady Rattlers (10-17, 7-7 MEAC) shot just 29.0 percent (18-for-62) from the floor, hitting just two of their 10 3-pointers and going just 1-for-3 from the free throw line.
Grice led FAMU with 13 points.
The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they take on Bethune-Cookman at the HU Convocation Center at 6 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.
Box Score
COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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