Hampton Historic Season Ends in Loss to Michigan State

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina  -- The Hampton University women's basketball team had its 2013-14 end on Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena, as the Lady Pirates fell 91-61 to No. 5 seed Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The loss snapped Hampton's 18-game winning streak.

The No. 12 seed Lady Pirates (28-5) were led by senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.), who scored 19 points in her final collegiate game while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added 16 points and seven rebounds.

"Tough, tough game," head coach David Six said. "Michigan State played well. We certainly didn't play well in the first half. We weren't ready to go and I certainly have to take responsibility for that, but I can't take anything away from Michigan State."

A jumper from Hamilton at the 16:31 mark of the first half gave the Lady Pirates a 6-5 lead, before Michigan State answered with a 15-1 run to take a 20-7 lead after a 3-pointer from Tori Jankoska at the 12:17 mark.

Junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) hit a trey at the 11:59 mark to end the run, but the Spartans scored the next 10 points, taking a 30-10 lead with 8:55 left in the first half after a fastbreak layup from Aerial Powers.

Cole hit two free throws at the 6:29 mark, cutting Michigan State's lead to 32-16, but the Spartans closed the half with a 22-6 run, taking a 54-22 lead into the locker room after Annalise Pickrel hit three free throws with nine seconds left in the half.

Michigan State opened the second half on an 8-1 run, taking a 62-23 lead with 17:55 left after a jumper from Pickrel. Another Pickrel jumper with 7:01 left gave the Spartans their largest lead of the game at 79-36.

Hampton went on a 9-1 run, cutting the lead to 80-45 with 4:53 left after a 3-point play from Bennett.

Hamilton added a trey with 3:05 left to cut the Spartans' lead to 85-53, and when Bennett hit a jumper with 1:03 remaining, it cut Michigan State's lead to the final margin of 91-61.

The Lady Pirates shot 27.2 percent (22-for-81) from the floor and hit just two of their 18 3-pointers (11.1 percent). Hampton did turn Michigan State over 20 times, scoring 16 points off of those miscues.

Michigan State (23-9) shot 52.5 percent (32-for-61) from the floor – including a 57.6 percent clip in the first half – and made six of 18 3-pointers. The Spartans also held a 54-42 advantage on the glass.

Powers led five Spartans in double figures with 26 points, to go along with 18 rebounds.

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.
 
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