NORFOLK, Va. --  Senior Monnazjea Finney-Smith scored 23 points including five 3-pointers as Hampton used a 21-9 second quarter to pull away from Norfolk State for a 70-56 win to close the regular season at Joe Echols Hall.

With the win Hampton (16-13/12-4 MEAC) finished alone in third place and will play in the quarterfinals of the 2018 MEAC Tournament at noon on Thursday in the Norfolk Scope.  It's the exact scenario that Hampton had last season.

After a tight first quarter, Hampton opened scoring the first nine points of the second with a layup by Mikayla Sayle with 6:53 left giving Hampton a 24-15 advantage.  A jumper from Allina Starr with 38 seconds left gave Hampton a 34-24 lead heading into halftime.

NSU, who will play Savannah State in Monday's 11 am tournament opener, cut that lead in half with a 7-2 flurry to start the third as a free throw by Khadedra Croker made the lead 36-31 with 6:20 left.  Hampton responded with a 9-0 spurt to push the lead back to 14 points as a Dejane' James layup off a dish from Ashley Bates put the Lady Pirates up 45-31 with 3:31 remaining.

Once again Hampton opened the quarter with a run starting the fourth with a 10-2 burst as a James layup with 6:29 left put Hampton ahead 62-46.   

Finney-Smith added a team-high nine rebounds, while Sayle continued her hot run to close the regular season with 17 points and six rebounds.  Bates had 10 points, nine boards and five steals to go with three assists.  James dished out a career-high 10 assists which topped her previous of nine set in the Norfolk State game at Hampton last season.

For more information on Hampton University women's basketball please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpurates.com.