Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the second straight year, the Hampton University women's basketball team will take on Howard in the championship game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Joel Memorial Coliseum.

The game will be televised live on ESPNU – marking the first time the women's final will be televised live. This is Hampton's fourth consecutive appearance in the MEAC Tournament championship game.

The Lady Pirates are in search of their third straight MEAC Tournament crown; the last MEAC team to win three straight tournaments was Howard from 1996-98.

The top-seeded Lady Pirates (25-4) upended Coppin State 64-43 in Friday's semifinal, thanks to a 62-28 edge on the glass. Hampton, which is riding a 10-game winning streak, was led by senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) and sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.), who each had 14 points.

Bennett added a career-high 13 rebounds. Junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) added 12 points and 13 rebounds.

No. 2 seed Howard (24-7) defeated Florida A&M 51-43 in Friday's semifinal, thanks to 21 points and 11 rebounds from redshirt-junior forward Saadia Doyle, as well as 19 points from junior guard Tamoria Holmes.

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.

The Lady Bison finished in a tie for second with Florida A&M after going 14-2 in league play – their only two MEAC losses to Hampton – but picked p the tournament's No. 2 seed via tiebreaker over the Lady Rattlers.

Holmes leads the team in scoring, pouring in 18.3 points per game, while Doyle, a First Team All-MEAC selection, is averaging 17.2 points a night to go along with a team-high 8.6 rebounds per contest.

Howard is scoring 59.0 points a game, while giving up 52.8 points a night.

Hampton is 22-20 all-time against Howard, having swept this year's series and all three of last season's meetings — including the MEAC Tournament title game. Hampton has won 18 of the last 21 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.

Hampton is 3-3 against Howard on neutral courts.

The Lady Pirates are 277-136 all-time against teams currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Hampton has a winning record against every MEAC school. In addition, Hampton has won or shared regular-season MEAC titles five times (1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2010-11, 2011-12) and claimed five MEAC Tournament crowns (2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011).

The Lady Pirates have only had three neutral-court games so far this season, defeating Central Michigan 77-51 in the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic in New Orleans, La. on Dec. 28, beating Norfolk State 61-40 in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals and beating Coppin State 64-43 in the semifinals.

Hampton was 4-1 on neutral courts last season, its lone loss coming in overtime to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As head coach, David Six is 11-3 on neutral courts — including back-to-back MEAC Tournament titles.

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.