WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Hampton University women's basketball team locked down on defense late Saturday evening in Burr Gymnasium, defeating rival Howard 59-52.The Lady Pirates (22-4, 13-0 MEAC) won their 12th straight game.
Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) led four Lady Pirates in double figures with 18 points, becoming the 25th player in program to reach the 1,000-point mark. Junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
Senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) and freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) each added 12 points. Hamilton also had a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks.
Howard held an early 8-5 lead, before the Lady Pirates scored six unanswered points to take an 11-8 lead on a Bennett jumper at the 11:16 mark. Bennett added a layup at the 8:24 mark to put the Lady Pirates up 13-10 and eclipse the 1,000-point mark for her career.
The Lady Bison cut Hampton's lead to 20-19 with 4:00 left after two free throws from Sydni Johnson, but the Lady Pirates closed out the first half on a 9-0 run, and a Bennett jumper with 50 seconds left in the half gave Hampton a 29-19 lead.
Hampton took that lead into the locker room, and Bennett led all scorers at the break with 10 points. The Lady Pirates shot 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the floor in the opening half.
Howard opened the second half with an 8-0 run, cutting the lead to 29-27 on a trey from Jasmine Hill at the 18:14 mark before Bennett stopped the run with a pair of free throws with 18:00 left, giving Hampton a 31-27.
Johnson cut the lead to 33-30 with a 3-point play with 16:34 left, but Hamilton and Tate-DeFreitas scored on back-to-back possessions; Tate-DeFreitas hit a trey with 15:46 left to put the Lady Pirates up 38-30.
Bennett extended the lead to 40-30 with a layup with 15:12 left, giving the Lady Pirates a 7-0 run.
Tate-DeFreitas hit a layup with 10:23 left to cap a 5-0 Lady Pirates spurt and give Hampton a 48-39 lead. Howard answered with a 6-0 run, though, cutting the gap to 48-45 with 7:37 left on a breakaway layup from Jasmine Hill.
But Howard committed back-to-back turnovers, and Hamilton ended the run with a breakaway layup with 6:04 left. When Bennett added two free throws with 5:34 left, the Lady Pirates led 52-45.
In all, the Lady Pirates went on a 7-2 run, punctuated by a Bennett layup with 2:36 left to put Hampton up 55-47. During that span, Howard went over six minutes without a field goal.
Te'Shya Heslip hit a 3-pointer with 1:20 left to end the Lady Bison's drought, but the Lady Pirates hit five free throws down the stretch to take the game.
The Lady Pirates shot a season-best 53.7 percent (22-for-41) from the floor and hit three of seven 3-pointers (42.9 percent). Howard out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 26-25, but Hampton held a 26-22 edge in points in the paint.
Howard (10-15, 6-6 MEAC) shot 39.1 percent (18-for-46) from the floor.
Heslip led the Lady Bison with 11 points.
The Lady Pirates will have their 2013-14 road finale on Monday, taking on Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md. at 5:30 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 ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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