Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Hampton University women's basketball team used a strong first half to pull away to a 79-62 win over Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

The Lady Pirates (3-1) scored 47 points in the first half, eclipsing their point total from Tuesday's loss at Florida. Senior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas) led Hampton with a career-high 29 points, going 8-for-18 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

McMillian had 21 points in the first half.

Senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) added 13 points to become the 22nd Lady Pirate in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for her career. Junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) recorded a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

Hampton jumped out to a 12-8 lead early in the contest following a free throw from freshman guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.) at the 15:40 mark, before the Mastodons scored seven straight to take a 15-12 lead on a pair of free throws by Stefanie Mauk.

IPFW would lead by as much as four, 20-16, at the 11:44 mark after Anne Boese hit a 3-pointer, but Hampton took a 25-22 lead after capping a 9-2 run with a pair of Cole free throws.

Cole later hit a trey at the 5:30 mark to put Hampton up 30-25, and a layup from McMillian with 2:21 left in the half ballooned the lead to 10, 38-28. Boese hit a pair of free throws with 2:11 left to cut Hampton's lead to 38-30, but the Lady Pirates closed out the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 47-32 lead into the half.

Avant sank a layup with 19:12 left to play to give the Lady Pirates a 52-32 lead, and the Mastodons would get no closer than within 11, 60-49, after Hillary Moore hit a free throw with 9:46 left in the game.

The Lady Pirates scored six straight to go up by 17, 66-49, after a pair of Avant free throws.

Stephanie Rosado sank two free throws with 3:55 left to pull IPFW within 12, but Hampton again pulled away, going up 79-62 with 1:02 remaining after a trey from McMillian.

The Lady Pirates shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the floor – including a 41.9 percent clip (13-for-31) in the first half. Hampton also made 30 of 41 free throws, going 73.2 percent from the free throw line.

Hampton forced IPFW into 20 turnovers, scoring 19 points off of them, while also holding an 11-8 edge in second-chance points. The Lady Pirates out-rebounded IPFW 36-35 – the third time in four games so far this season Hampton has out-rebounded an opponent.

The Lady Pirates also got 27 points off the bench – to just nine for the Mastodons.

IPFW shot 37.0 percent (17-for-46) from the floor, but made just three of 16 3-point attempts. Rosado led IPFW (2-4) with 20 points, while Erin Murphy added 18 points and Boese chipped in 13 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday to close out their long road trip against Chicago State at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Ill. At 8 p.m. EST. 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.