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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Melanie Warner (Tallahassee, Fla.) poured in a career-high 22 points and corraled 10 rebounds and Quanneisha Perry (Decatur, Ga.) also added a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds ( her 11th of the year) to lead Hampton University to an easy 65-41 win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. 

The Lady Pirates (18-11), the Number 2 seed, advance to Friday's semifinal round against the winner of the Bethune-Cookman-Morgan State quarterfinal game on Friday at 2:30 pm. 

Hampton, which played in the tournament final last year and lost to North Carolina A&T, entered tournament as one of the hottest teams, having won three in a row and 11 of its last 12. The Lady Pirates came out of the block and established tthe tempo early, bolting out to a 23-6 lead and never looking back.

“It was very important that we got off to a fast start,” said Hampton first-year head coach David Six. “It allowed us to set the tempo. We were able to get out and do the things we wanted to do. I thought we did a great job on defense, we executed our offense and we did a much better job of not giving them second chance opportunities.” Hampton dominated the boards, 47-28 and 19-5 on the offensive glass. 

Warner, a sophomore, and Perry, a junior who was a first team all-conference selection and defensive player of the year, provided both the fire power and the rebounding as they combined for 19 of their team's 30 points and 13 rebounds while limiting the Lady Hawks (12-16) to three field goals in the first 20 minutes.

“Hampton came out and played like a No. 2 seed is supposed to,” declared UMES head coach Fred Batchelor. “They were a lot more aggressive and they beat us in every way. We were out-played, out-executed and out coached.” 

The Lady Pirates continued their dominance in the second half as Perry and Warner proved to be too much to handle. The point guard tandem of sophomores Bernadette Fortune (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) were equally effective, although in a much quieter fashion, as they controlled the tempo, scoring 15 points between them and dealing out 9 assists while committing only one turnover. 

The Lady Hawks were led all season by their tandem of All-MEAC selection, senior April McBride and junior Casey Morton, but Hampton bottled up the duo and held them to 9 points between them, 17 points under their season average. 

“Our focus was on playing great defense,” said Coach Six. “I thought we had a concentrated effort on keeping two of the better players in the conference in check.”

UMES was led by sophomore forward Adobi Agbasi, who came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points and grab 6 rebounds. 

The Lady Pirates will play the winner of the Bethune-Cookman/ Morgan State game on Friday at the L. Joel Coliseum.For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call Derrick Coles, Assistant Sports Information Director, at (757) 727-5906, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.