HAMPTON, Va. - The Hampton University Lady Pirates had two major goals in Saturday’s basketball game against Bucknell University – to end their three-game drought against the Lady Bison and to remain undefeated on the season.

 

Both of those goals were accomplished at the HU Convocation Center as Hampton turned a five-point halftime deficit into a two-point win, garnering a 53-51 victory.  That win was the first in four tries in the series and it allowed the Lady Pirates to remain undefeated on the season at 3-0.

 

In the first half, 45.2 percent shooting from the field helped the Lady Bison to a 31-26 lead.  Hampton, meanwhile, connected on just 34.6 percent of its shots from the field and went 0-for-4 from three-point range.

 

While their shooting percentage didn’t make much of an improvement in the second half, the Lady Pirates did manage to cool off Bucknell, which shot just 29.6 in the second half, hitting just nine of 27 shots from the field.

 

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, a Mikki Clayton layup with 5:02 to play gave the Lady Pirates a one-point lead at 50-49, a margin which they’d never relinquish.

 

Trailing by one at 52-51 with 51 seconds to play, Bucknell had several chances to take the lead but Hampton’s defense forced several turnovers in the waning seconds.

 

Hampton’s victory was keyed by Artavia Burns, who led the Lady Pirates with 12 points, and Chinyere Okoh, who led all rebounders with 10 boards. The Lady Pirates scored 38 points in the paint and scored 15 points off 24 Lady Bison turnovers.

 

Bucknell was paced by Hope Foster’s 16 points and seven rebounds.  Amanda Brown, Kesha Champion and Kristina Collymore all tossed in eight points for the Lady Bison.

 

Hampton will get a shot at increasing their unblemished record to 4-0 when they travel to North Carolina to take on Charlotte next Wednesday.  Tipoff on Charlotte’s campus is slated for 7 p.m.