BOXSCORE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-The defensive pressure of the Lady Pirates team basketball limited the Lady Rattlers to just 8-of-28 shooting from the field in the second half as Hampton (7-6, 3-1 MEAC) knocked off Florida A&M (7-8, 3-1 MEAC), 70-60, to extend their winning streak to three games.
After jumping out to as much as a seven point lead during the first half, the Lady Rattlers entered halftime with a 31-24 advantage over the Lady Pirates. FAMU shot 39 percent during the first 20 minutes compared to Hampton’s 28 percent. The Lady Rattlers also outscored HU 16-6 in the paint and converted the 14 Pirate turnovers into 13 point.s The Lady Pirates were also unable to capitalize on the Rattler’s mistakes only tallying three turnover points as FAMU ended the first stanza on the heels of a 6-1 run.
However ,the second half presented a completely different synopsis for the Lady Pirates as Hampton came out of the locker room with lots of momentum. HU exploded into the second half with a 20-3 run over an eight minute span. The Lady Rattlers were held scoreless for nearly six minutes of play until a jumper by Marke freeman ended the FAMU scoring famine.
Nevertheless, the blue and white continued to take charge of the game, taking their biggest double-digit lead of the night at the 5:40 mark when a jumper by Rachel Butler (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) put HU up by 16, 61-45. The Lady Pirates hung on to their lead and left Gaither Arena with its third consecutive victory and third straight in Tallahassee. Once again the Hampton reserves were key in this game as the HU bench outscored FAMU’s bench 38-28. A key reserve for the Lady Pirates was sophomore forward Chinyere Ukoh (Woodbridge,Va./Woodbridge HS)who posted a 12-points and a game-high 11 rebounds for her third consecutive double figure performance. Sophomore swing woman Ashlee Finley (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg HS) added 12 points and six rebounds.
Guard Q’Vaunda Curry led four Rattlers in double digits with 12 points.
The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, January 13 when they take on Morgan State at the HU Convocation Center at 4 p.m.
