Thursday, March 6
Hampton, VA
6 p.m.
Hampton University
74
vs
46
Howard
LADY PIRATES CLOSE REGULAR-SEASON WITH 74-46 ROMP OVER HOWARD
3.6.08 | Women's Basketball
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University Lady Pirates basketball team concluded regular-season play with a 28-point shellacking of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival Howard University here on Thursday, defeating the Lady Bison 74-46 at the HU Convocation Center.
Hampton, 17-12 overall and 10-6 in the MEAC, led 41-31 at halftime. Howard ended the regular-season with records of 4-25 overall and 3-13 in the conference.
Mebane said his team’s performances over the last three games are hopefully an indication of the level of preparedness his players have for next week’s MEAC tournament, which will be played at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. on March 10-15.
“It’s obvious that going into the tournament on a three-game winning streak gives us momentum,” said HU head coach Walter Mebane. “We’re playing like we did at the beginning of the season, so we’re pleased with that.”
Howard scored the game’s first points on a Shannon Carlisle jumper 10 seconds into the game and then added a three-pointer by Asha Santee one minute later, practically ending its highlights for the night. That was the Lady Bison’s last lead of the night.
When Quanneisha Perry’s lay with 17:28 to go in the opening half put the Lady Pirates up 6-5, Hampton would never look back and it was the beginning of what would ultimately evolve into a route.
Howard managed to keep Hampton’s lead manageable until Ashley Finley’s layup with 1:35 left before halftime gave her team a double-figure lead at 10 points, 36-26. That 10-point margin is same margin the Lady Pirates held at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Pirates took less than six minutes to increase their lead to 15 points and eight minutes to build a 20-point lead, the latter coming on a Miki Clayton free throw that put HU ahead 56-36.
The last seven minutes of the game saw the Lady Pirates lead by no less than 20 points, with their largest lead of the game coming with 1:25 to play when Rachel Butler connected on a pair of free throws that gave her team a 28-point lead.
Mebane said Butler, as well as fellow seniors Artavia Burns and Stephanie James, made outstanding contributions to the HU program during their respective careers at Hampton.
“I’m proud of all of the seniors,” said Mebane. “They’ll be hard to replace.”
Butler ended her home career in impressive fashion, leading all scorers with 22 points on the night, along with 10 rebounds. Senior Stephanie James added 13 points and Chinyere Ukoh contributed 10 points.
The Lady Pirates out-rebounded Howard 56 to 32 and hit 46.9 percent of their shots from the field, compared to Howard’s 26.2 percent shooting night.
Santee and Tamaya Daniels were Howard’s top guns, scoring 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Both schools will now await the announcement of the pairings for next week’s MEAC tournament, which will be held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. on March 10-15.
For more information on the HU women’s basketball program, visit the school’s web site at www.hamptonpirates.com or call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5757.
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