BOX SCORE

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Hampton University women's basketball team (19-11) defeated the Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman (17-15) 58-38 in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum.

The Lady Pirates controlled the tempo the entire game. Hampton started the game on a 22-6 run, which started with a layup by MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Quanneisha Perry at the 17:40 mark and ended with Bernadette Fortune making a layup off a steal by Laura Lewis at the 8:31 mark.

A 3-point shot by Choicetta McMillian at the 4:23 mark gave the Lady Pirates a 29-9 lead. A layup by the Lady Wildcats' Demetria Frank with two seconds left got the team within 16, 33-17, going into halftime.

The Lady Pirates shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) in the first half, while the Lady Wildcats only shot 25 percent (5-for-20) from the field. The Lady Pirates forced 11 turnovers and scored 16 points off the Lady Wildcats' mistakes.

“Our gameplan all year is to play aggressive defense the entire game, and the team realized we have to limit teams' scoring opportunities,” said Hampton head coach David Six.

“We really didn't handle Hampton's defensive pressure early in the game,” said BCU head coach Vanessa Inge.

The Lady Wildcats came out fighting in the second half, with layups by Jalisa Issac and senior Euneshia Proctor to cut the deficit to 14 (39-25) at the 14:16 mark. After a couple of turnovers by Bethune-Cookman, the Lady Pirates capitalized with a couple of easy baskets by Perry and Lewis to build the lead back to 16 (44-28) at the 9:09 mark. Sarah Bolden and Frank tried to keep the Wildcats in the game with baskets in the paint in the last four minutes of the game, but the Lady Pirates were too much to handle.

“Our kids are really showing that they really want to win the championship, and I am very happy for them,” Six said.

Perry lead all scorers with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her 12^th double-double of the season, while Melanie Warner had 16 points, and Fortune contributed 12 points and four assists. Frank led the Lady Wildcats with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Bolden added 10 points with four rebounds.

“I feel great that we are in the same position we were last year and I feel comfortable in our change to win it all if we rebound and be aggressive defensively,” said Perry.

The Lady Pirates scored 40 points in the paint. Hampton also shot 72.7 percent from the free throw stripe, while Bethune-Cookman shot 66.7 percent from the free throw line.

The Lady Pirates will play No. 8 seed South Carolina State at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the L. Joel Coliseum for the MEAC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 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.