BOXSCORE
HAMPTON, Va.-Junior point guard Artavia Burns (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) scored 16 points to lead the Hampton University Lady Pirates to a 65-64 victory over North Texas on Friday night inside the HU Convocation Center.
The Lady Pirates (1-1) were able to win a close one on a swooping lay-up by Burns followed two key free-throws by Burns with 1:49 seconds to play to put the Pirates up by three. However a foul by Jade Jones (St. Croix, V.I./Good Hope HS) sent Talicia Sanders to the line as she connected both to bring the Mean Green (0-2) within one. With .25 seconds left in regulation a foul by Sanetra Jackson sent Burns back to the charity stripe for two, giving HU a three-point advantage. Nevertheless Burns fouled Jackson at half-court to send her to line as she hit both to close the gap to one.
Nonetheless, the Pirates weren’t assured of the win until Jo Hall’s long 3-point attempt with one second left bounced off the rim following two missed free-throws by sophomore Roneisha Corbitt (Philadelphia, Pa. /Paul Robeson HS).
In the first half, HU jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead as they left the Mean Green scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. As a team HU shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) in the opening 20 minutes against North Texas. The infamous Lady Pirate “pressure cooker” defense limited North Texas to just 28 percent (9-32) shooting from the field .
The blue and white led 32-29 at halftime, a far cry from the 49-25 deficit they faced after 20 minutes in their 85-77 season opening loss to Bucknell.
The second half was one of swings for both teams, and North Texas had the first one, opening with a 10-4 run started by Jackson and capped by an Erica Howard lay-up at 14:51 giving the visitors their first lead of the game. But HU swung back as Stephanie James (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sierra HS) came back with a two-piece, hitting back-to-back three-pointers.
James finished 3-for-4 from 3-point range and her last one capped a 7-3 run that gave HU a five point advantage with 6:21 to go.
James was the only other Lady Pirate in double figures with 11 points.
Amber Jackson was the leading scorer for North Texas recording 15 points, while Sanders and Brittany James chipped in with 13 and 12 points respectively.
HU will now take a day off before returning to the Convocation Center on Sunday, Nov. 19 to host Georgia State at 6 p.m.
