BOXSCORE
HAMPTON, Va.-The Lady Pirates defeated conference foe Florida A&M for the second time this season, winning an 81-64 decision over the Lady Rattlers inside the HU Convocation Center Monday night.
The Pirates improve to 11-9 (7-4 MEAC) on the season, while FAMU drops to 12-10 (8-3 MEAC).
FAMU outscored the Lady Pirates 9-2 in the opening six minutes of play to go up by seven with 14:29 to play. Hampton responded by scoring 10 of the game’s next 13 points to take the lead (15-12) with 9:25 ticks left in the game.
However, the Lady Rattlers responded by outscoring the blue and white 7-5 to come back within one, 20-19, with 6:51 left in regulation. Nevertheless, Artavia Burns (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) sparked another Hampton run with a three-pointer at 4:15, and then Rachel Butler (Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS) connected two foul shots at 3:51. Linda Rickenbacker (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River HS) added another jumper at 3:33, but back-to back jumpers by Deidra Jones and Ifeoma Onuaku tied the game at 27 all with 2:31 remaining. With under a minute left, Taniyah Dawson’s jumper gave FAMU its first lead since the opening minutes, but Burns quickly answered with back- to-back jumpers giving the Pirates the lead (31-29) at intermission.
I
n the second half, The Lady Pirates never trailed as Hampton got off an 18-5 run, pushing the lead out to 17 (55-37) at 13:56. The Pirates saw their largest lead at the 8:07 mark.
The Rattlers looked to take make a come back, chipping the lead down to 10 with 2:08 to play. Subsequently, FAMU found itself in foul trouble sending the Lady Pirates to the charity stripe to seal the victory at the free-throw line where they scored their last eight points.
Hampton was led by Butler with 18 points, six assists and four steals. Burn added 17 points, while Rickenbacker posted a season high 10 points. Sophomore forward Ashlee Finley (Harrisburg, Pa. /Harrisburg HS) led the team on the boards with a game-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Rattlers were led by Thyeis Halley with 14 points and guard Deidra Jones added 11 points.
The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, February 10 as they head to Baltimore to face Morgan State at 2 p.m.
