ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The Hampton University women's basketball team fell in its finale of the 2012 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Saturday, as Florida Gulf Coast came away with a 70-59 win.

The Lady Pirates (4-3) have dropped their last three games.

Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) led the Lady Pirates with 17 points, going 6-for-14 from the floor. Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) came off the bench to add 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) and freshman guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) each had a team-high six rebounds.

Hamilton was named to the Reef Division's All-Tournament Team.

Hampton went up 4-0 to open the game after a layup from redshirt-freshman forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) at the 18:41 mark, before the Eagles went on an 11-3 run to take an 11-7 lead after a 3-pointer from Amanda Moore at the 14:02 mark.

Allen hit a 3-pointer with 12:05 left in the half to tie the game at 13-13, before FGCU took control again with a 6-0 run to take a 19-13 lead with 10:01 left in the half. Hampton answered with 7-0 run to take a 20-19 lead on a Hamilton 3-pointer with 7:50 left in the half.

Hamilton added a jumper at the 6:49 mark to put Hampton up 22-21.

An 8-2 FGCU run gave the Eagles a 29-24 lead with 3:59 left in the half, and after a pair of Hamilton free throws to cut the lead to 29-26, FGCU closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 35-26 lead into the break.

Hamilton led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, as the Lady Pirates shot 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from the floor. FGCU shot 41.2 percent (14-for-34) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, getting six points from Hansen.

FGCU opened the second half on a 7-4 spurt, taking a 42-30 lead at the 16:20 mark after a layup from Hansen. Hampton scored four straight to cut the lead to 42-34 with 15:46 left to play after a fastbreak layup from Hamilton.

Hansen put the Eagles back up by double digits with 14:07 left, sinking a layup to give FGCU a 44-34 lead. Allen hit a 3-pointer at the 12:32 mark to pull Hampton within 46-39. After FGCU took a 50-39 lead, freshman guard Blake Jenkines (Clarksville, Tenn.) hit a jumper at the 11:12 mark to cut the lead to 50-41.

From there, the Eagles went on an 8-3 spurt to take a 58-44 lead with 6:09 remaining.

A 3-pointer from Jaime Gluesing with 3:54 left to play gave the Eagles (3-3) a 67-50 lead. The Lady Pirates tried to claw back, but couldn't cut the deficit to single digits in the waning minutes.

Hampton shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the floor and hit 11 of its 15 free throws.

FGCU shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the floor and hit six of 18 3-pointers. The Eagles also held a 40-34 edge on the glass and only turned the ball over 16 times against the Lady Pirates.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they hit the road for Orangeburg, S.C. to open MEAC play against South Carolina State at 4 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.