Boxscore
Hampton, Va. – Junior guards Artavia Burns (Dallas Texas, Lincoln HS) and Rachel Butler (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) provided the spark for the Lady Pirates in the Hampton University women’s basketball team’s season opening scrimmage, combining for 32 points, 15 in the first half, to hammer M.I. Express, 96-56, in an exhibition at the HU Convocation Center on Wednesday night.
Head coach Walter Mebane and his staff skillfully combined lineups to have several players showcase their talents giving Hampton fans a preview of the 2006-07 season as five Lady Pirates scored in double-figures. Butler led Hampton with 19 points including four three-pointers. Burns added 13 points and nine assists, while freshman guard Whitney Hill (Hampton, Va. / Phoebus HS) added 13 points of her own. Junior guard Stephanie James (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Sierra HS) registered 12 points and sophomore center Shahara Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa. /Harrisburg HS) tallied 11 points and pulled down six rebounds.
The blue and white hit the ground running in the first half as they jumped out to a quick 11-4 run triggered by a driving lay-up by Burns in the opening seconds of the game. A jumper by Shareese Grant signaled a scoring run by M.I. Express that brought them within four points (16-10) with 12:03 on the clock before a lay-up by Hill put a stop the visitor’s scoring run. After that, HU exploded with a 19-11 run to end the half.
Burns finished the first half with eight points and posted five assists in the opening half, while Butler finished the half with seven points including one trey to help the blue and white to a 37-21 halftime lead. HU was also led by James in the half, who had five points and senior Jade Jones (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands/Good Hope) snatched four boards.
The Lady Pirates opened up the floodgates again in the second half, after Hill opened up the half with a three for HU, going on a 17-7 run to open the second half. The blue and white kept the momentum going, closing out the game with an 18-8 advantage.
After only tallying three points in the first half, Johnson and Hill poured it on in the second half, with eight and 10 points respectively. Sophomore Ashlee Finley (Harrisburg, Pa. /Harrisburg HS) put in eight points in the game, while Jones also posted eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
As a team the Lady Pirates shot .467 from the field and connected 67 percent of their free-throws.
Shareese Grant led the way for M.I. Express with her game-high 20 points.
The Lady Pirates will open up their regular season at Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
