STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Hampton University women's basketball team thwarted a late run by Mississippi State Monday night before ultimately escaping Humphrey Coliseum with a hard-fought 56-48 win.

The Lady Pirates (2-0) picked up their second-ever win over a school from the SEC; the program's first came in 2010 against Florida.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.)  the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, led the Lady Pirates with 19 points and 16 rebounds for her second straight double-double to open the season. Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) and junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) each added 14 points.

Bennett added seven rebounds, while Hamilton also dished out a team-high five assists.

The Lady Pirates led by as many as 12 in the second half, going up 44-32 with 9:14 to play after a pair of free throws from Avant. The Bulldogs (1-1) answered by going on a 10-0 run to cut that lead to 44-42 with 4:57 to play on a 3-pointer from Darriel Gaynor.

With momentum on Mississippi State's side, Hampton called a timeout with 4:35 to play. Then, after forcing a Bulldogs miss, Bennett nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing – Hampton's lone trey of the night – to stop the run and put the Lady Pirates back up 47-42 with 3:56 remaining.

From that point forward, the Bulldogs never got any closer than within five.

Defense and rebounding again carried the day for the Lady Pirates; Hampton held Mississippi State to 29.5 percent shooting (13-for-44) from the floor, while also forcing 23 Bulldog turnovers and turning those into 19 points.

The Lady Pirates held a 14-2 edge in fast-break points.

Hampton also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 44-29 – including a 21-10 advantage on the offensive glass. As a result, the Lady Pirates scored 15 second-chance points.

The Lady Pirates shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) from the floor – including a 37.9-percent clip in the first half. Hampton jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with 17:47 left after an Avant layup, before the Bulldogs scored eight unanswered points to take an 8-6 lead with 12:51 left in the first half.

The two teams battled back-and-forth for much of the opening 20 minutes, though Mississippi State held a 15-12 lead – its largest of the night – at the 7:49 mark following a Gaynor jumper.

Kendra Grant hit a 3-pointer with 4:42 left in the half to put the Bulldogs up 18-15, but that was Mississippi State's last field goal of the half. Hampton answered by ending the half with an 11-0 run, going into the locker room up 26-18 after Bennett hit a floater at the buzzer on an in-bounds play.

Martha Alwal led three Bulldogs in double figures with 13 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they hold their home debut at 7 p.m. against LSU at the HU Convocation Center. 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.