BOXSCORE

ORANGEBURG, S.C.-Junior guard Rachel Butler posted 16 points and fellow Texan guard Artavia Burns added 14 to fight off a late charge from South Carolina State University for a 71-66 victory inside the Smith-Hammond Memorial Center on Saturday night.

The Lady Pirates have now won five straight on the road and improve to 9-8 overall (5-3 MEAC), while the Lady Bulldogs fall to 4-15 (2-7 MEAC).

HU led by as many as 11 in the second half before SCSU began to chip away at the lead, cutting it to five (54-49) with 8:46 on the clock. Nevertheles,  lay-ups by Ashlee Finley (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg HS) and Sharella Leslie (Brooklyn, N.Y./George Westinghouse HS) pushed the Pirate lead to nine with 7:05 remaining.

Subsequently, a Brittany Gillespie three-pointer at 4:34 sparked a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs to but the blue and white lead to two with 1:38 ticks left. However, he rally came up short as the Lady Pirates sealed the win at the line free-throw line posting seven points at the charity stripe in the games final minute.

HU outrebounded SCSU 48-33 as Finley led all players on the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Lady Bulldogs were paced by freshman Sophillia Hipps’ 18 points.


Hampton will return to the court on Monday, January 20 against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.