HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team stifled Maryland Eastern Shore defensively on Saturday afternoon en route to taking a 47-29 win at the HU Convocation Center.

The Lady Pirates (19-4, 11-1 MEAC) set a new season low in points allowed in picking up their fourth straight win. This is also the third straight game in which Hampton has held an opponent to under 50 points; two of those three didn't even break 40.

Senior forward Melanie Warner (Tallahassee, Fla.) led the Lady Pirates with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

Senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) added nine points to go along with five assists.

Hampton opened the game on an 11-2 run, going up by that margin at the 15:08 mark of the first half after sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) hit a layup. The Lady Pirates went on to lead by as many as 12 in the first half, going up 17-5 at the 8:23 mark on a Jenkins 3-pointer.

UMES responded with an 11-2 run, cutting Hampton's lead to 19-16 with 2:43 left in the half on a 3-pointer from Kwinnyata Mercer. Warner sank a layup with 36 seconds left in the half to put Hampton up 21-16 – the lead it would take into the break.

Hampton held the Lady Hawks to just three first-half field goals.

The Lady Pirates opened the second half on a 13-0 run, going up 34-16 with 11:47 left to play after a Warner layup. UMES did not score in the second half until the 11:21 mark, when Amber Cook sank a layup of her own.

Bennett put the Lady Pirates back up by 21, 39-18 with 10:26 to play with a layup, and the Lady Hawks never got any closer than within 14, cutting Hampton's lead to 43-29 with 49 seconds left after a layup from Shanyce Stewart.

The Lady Pirates shot 32.2 percent (19-for-59) from the floor, while also hitting four of their 20 3-pointers and all five of their free throws. Hampton also forced 23 UMES turnovers, converting them into 20 points.

UMES (9-15, 6-6 MEAC) shot just 15.9 percent (7-for-44) from the floor, but the Lady Hawks did out-rebound Hampton 40-39 – marking the first time this season the Lady Pirates won a game in which they were out-rebounded.

Mercer led UMES with 10 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they play host to Delaware State at 6 p.m. at the HU Convocation Center. It will be the Lady Pirates' home finale, and Hampton will celebrate Senior Night.

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.