Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Hampton University women's basketball team opened the 2011-12 season in style on Saturday, upending the University of Pittsburgh 60-37 at the Petersen Events Center.

Dating back to last season, the Lady Pirates (1-0) have won 15 of their last 16 games.

Senior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas) led the Lady Pirates with 22 points, thanks in large part to a 6-for-15 effort from behind the arc. Senior forward Melanie Warner (Tallahassee, Fla.) poured in 12 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double.

Junior forward Ariel Phelps (Virginia Beach, Va.) added 10 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.

Pitt jumped out to a 6-1 lead, before the Lady Pirates scored eight straight points to take a 9-6 lead after a jumper from senior center Sherena Abercrumbia (Dallas, Texas). Brianna Kiesel gave the Panthers the lead again with a jumper at the 11:47 mark, but a layup from sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) put the Lady Pirates on top for good.

From there, Hampton closed out the half on a 22-5 run; after Kiesel's jumper, Pitt would not score another field goal until Asia Logan's layup at the buzzer.

The Lady Pirates led 31-15 at the half, holding Pitt to just six field goals in the opening 20 minutes.

A trey from senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) at the 18:20 mark of the second half gave the Lady Pirates a 38-17 lead – and that lead grew to 41-19 at the 17:08 mark after a 3-pointer from McMillian.

A Phelps jumper with 15:48 left put Hampton up 43-21, before Pitt scored seven straight points to claw to within 43-28 on a 3-pointer from Abby Dowd – Pitt's only trey of the game.

McMillian hit another 3-pointer with 4:45 left to put Hampton up 55-31, and the Panthers would never get any closer than within 20 after that, when Kiesel sank a layup to cut Hampton's lead to 55-35.

The Lady Pirates shot 31.3 percent (20-for-64) from the floor, but also made 10 of their 25 3-pointers (40.0 percent) and 10 of 14 free throws (71.4 percent). Hampton also held a decisive 46-35 edge in rebounding.

Pitt, despite shooting just 21.4 percent in the first half, wound up shooting 31.4 (16-for-51) percent for the game. The Panthers (0-1) turned the ball over 22 times and made just four of their 12 free throws (33.3 percent).

Logan led Pitt with 12 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they head to Jacksonville, Fla. to take on the Dolphins of Jacksonville at 1 p.m. 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.