Game Notes

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Hampton University women's basketball team, the two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion, will open the 2011-12 season on Saturday, taking on the University of Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

The Lady Pirates (25-7, 15-1 MEAC in 2010-11), in their third season under head coach David Six, swept the MEAC regular-season and tournament titles last season, before falling in overtime to Kentucky 66-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.

Six, the reigning MEAC Coach of the Year, returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's squad, while welcoming eight newcomers to the team. All three returning starters: senior guards Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) and Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas), as well as senior forward Melanie Warner (Tallahassee, Fla.) earned Preseason All-MEAC honors.

Jenkins, an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American last season, was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC, while McMillian and Warner were each named Preseason Second Team All-MEAC. The Lady Pirates were chosen by the MEAC's head coaches and sports information directors to repeat as regular-season conference champions.

Jenkins is the team's top returning scorer and assist-maker; last season she averaged 13.4 points per game, while sitting second in the nation with 7.2 assists per contest. Warner is the team's top returning rebounder and shot blocker, having averaged 6.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocked shots per game.

McMillian is the team's top 3-point shooter from last season, coming off a 2010-11 campaign that saw her go 77-for-218 (35.3 percent) from behind the arc, the fifth-best average in the MEAC. She averaged 11.6 points per game last season, which was third on the team.

The Panthers went 14-17 last season, finishing 12th in the Big East with a mark of 5-11. Head coach Agnus Berenato, in her ninth year at Pitt, returns just one starter and five letterwinners from last year's squad, and will look to replace 74.6 percent of last season's scoring. Pitt is the youngest team in Div. I this season, with six freshmen and six sophomores.

Redshirt sophomore guard Ashlee Anderson is the lone returning starter from a year ago, and she is the team's top returning scorer – coming off a 2010-11 season in which she averaged 5.2 points per game. Redshirt sophomore forward Leeza Burdgess is the team's top returning rebounder after pulling down 3.0 boards a game last season.

Pitt, which lost five of its last six games to close out the 2010-11 season, averaged 66.3 points per game on offense last season, while giving up 64.6 points per game.

Pitt leads the all-time series against Hampton 1-0, with the only prior meeting between the two teams taking place on Dec. 11, 1999 at the HU Convocation Center. The Panthers won that contest 86-65.

Hampton is 2-9 all-time against teams from the Big East – 2-5 if you remove Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech, which have left for the Atlantic Coast Conference since the last time they each played Hampton. The Lady Pirates are 0-1 all-time against Connecticut; 1-1 against Georgetown; 0-1 against Louisville; 0-1 against Miami; 0-1 against Pitt; 1-1 against St .John's; and 0-3 against Virginia Tech.

Hampton last faced a Big East school on Nov. 25, 2008, losing on the road to Georgetown 82-55. The Lady Pirates' last win over a big East school also came against Georgetown, when Hampton won 52-50 at the HU Convocation Center on Nov. 9, 2007.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.