Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will kick off the bulk of its conference schedule on Saturday, taking on the Lady Bison of Howard at the HU Convocation Center at 4 p.m.

The game will be a re-match of last season's MEAC Tournament championship game, and the Lady Pirates will celebrate last season's title prior to the game with the dropping of the championship banners.

Hampton (10-3, 2-0 MEAC) is coming off a 76-48 win over East Carolina on Monday –a game in which senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas), the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, scored a game-high 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting and added 10 assists for her second double-double of the season.

Jenkins, who is ninth in the country with 6.4 assists per game, is just 18 assists shy of 500 for her career, which would make her just the second player in program history to reach that milestone.

Sophomore guard Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added a career-high 18 points against East Carolina, while junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) added 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Howard (10-5, 2-0 MEAC) has won nine straight games after a 58-31 home win over NJIT on Thursday. Junior guard Tamoria Holmes led the Lady Bison with 24 points on 9-for-22 shooting, while redshirt-junior forward Saadia Doyle added 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Howard went 16-18 last season, finishing fifth in the MEAC with a 9-7 record before falling in the MEAC championship game to Hampton. The Lady Bison, under fourth-year head coach Niki Reid Geckeler, return four starters and 10 letterwinners from last season, and were picked to finish second in the league this season.

Holmes is the team's leading scorer, pouring in 18.7 points per game, while Doyle, the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 16.4 points a night to go along with a team-high 8.7 rebounds per contest.

The Lady Bison are scoring just 59.0 points a game, while giving up just 57.0 points a contest.

Hampton is 20-20 all-time against Howard, having won all three of last season's meetings — including the MEAC Tournament title game. Hampton has won 16 of the last 19 in the series, including eight in a row from 2002-06. Howard last beat Hampton on Dec. 5, 2009, 48-47 in Washington, D.C.

The Lady Pirates are 269-128 all-time against teams currently in the MEAC. Hampton has a winning record against every MEAC school except Howard, and the Lady Pirates are .500 all-time against the Bison.

In addition, Hampton has won or shared regular-season MEAC titles four times (1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2010-11) and claimed five MEAC Tournament crowns (2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011).

Under head coach David Six, the Lady Pirates are a combined 24-5 at  the HU Convocation Center over the past two-plus seasons — including a 10-2 mark at home last season and a 10-3 mark in 2009-10.

The Lady Pirates have won 14 straight at home dating back to last season.

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.