BOXSCORE

HAMPTON, Va.-The Hampton University women’s basketball team mounted a late comeback to overcome South Carolina State, 63-54 in the Hampton University Convocation Center.

Hampton (14-11, 10-6 MEAC) got off to a sluggish start and found themselves down by 15 (28-43) at the 15:00 mark until a lay-up by Ashlee Finley (Harrisburg, Pa./ Harrisburg HS) sparked a 20-5 run by the Lady Pirates to tie the game 48 all with 4:50 ticks left. HU extended the lead to five, but South Carolina State (7-20, 5-12 MEAC) was able to cut the lead back to three with 1:59 remaining. However it wasn’t enough as the blue and white sealed the victory at the charity stripe scoring their last eight points at the line to escape with the victory.

In the first half, HU shot a dismal 28 percent (7-25) from the floor including a poor 25 percent (1-4) from the free-throw line. SCSU opened the half with a 10-3 run to claim a seven point lead during the games’ opening five minutes. Hampton answered with a 4-1 run to tie the game at 13-13 at 11:51, but the Lady Pirates went scoreless for a five minute span as the Lady Bulldog lead elevated to 16 (31-15) at 6:38. A Finely lay-up ended the Pirate scoring drought at with 6:16 remaining, but SCSU was able to take a 38-23 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Freshman Whitney Hill (Hampton, Va. / Phoebus HS) led Hampton with a career-high 21 points. Rachel Butler (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) added 14 points and Finley chipped in with a double-double performance of 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

South Carolina State was paced by Brittany Baity’s 11 points, while Jessica Gerald and Kristin Johnson led the Lady Bulldogs on the boards with eight apiece.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, February 26 to host North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. in the HU Convocation Center.