WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Hampton University women's basketball team stormed back in the second half on Saturday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium, overcoming a 10-point deficit to defeat rival Howard 52-50.

Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) led the Lady Pirates (12-5, 3-0 MEAC) with 19 points – including 15 in the second half – while senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high 16 rebounds.

Junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added seven points and a career-high 15 boards.

The opening minutes of the contest were back-and-forth; Hamilton gave the Lady Pirates an 8-6 lead with a layup at the 11:59 mark, but Howard tied the game at 8-8 at the 11:43 mark after a layup from Victoria Gonzalez.

Gonzalez then hit a jumper at the 10:53 mark to give the Lady Bison a 10-8 lead. That basket kicked off a 6-0 Howard run, with the Lady Bison taking a 14-8 lead after a Kara Smith jumper with 6:25 left in the half.

Hampton scored the next five points, though, all from Avant, who cut Howard's lead to 14-13 at the 4:36 mark with a stickback. Hamilton then tied the game at 16-16 with 2:43 left in the half with a fast-break layup.

Howard scored the last four points of the half, though, to go into the locker room up 20-16.

The Lady Bison opened the second half on a 10-4 run, taking a 30-20 lead on a Saadia Doyle fadeaway jumper with 16:34 left to play. Hampton answered with an 8-0 run, though, cutting the lead to 30-28 on a 3-pointer from senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) with 13:07 left to play.

Imani Bailey answered at the 12:25 mark with a trey of her own, putting Howard up 33-28. Smith added a trey at the 11:09 mark to put the Lady Bison up 36-28.

Hamilton tied the game at 38-38 with a pair of free throws at the 6:42 mark, but the Lady Bison took the lead back at the 5:57 mark with a Jerelle Gorham jumper to make the score 40-38. Sophomore guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.)gave Hampton a 42-40 lead with a 3-pointer with 5:07 to play.

Gorham tied the game at 42-42 with a jumper with 4:36 to play.

Bennett hit two free throws with 4:16 to play to give Hampton a 44-42 lead. Gorham answered at the 3:29 mark with a 3-point play to give Howard a 45-44 lead. Avant gave the Lady Pirates a 46-45 lead with a hook shot with 3:10 to play.

Hamilton put Hampton up 48-45 with a layup with 2:06 to play, but Cheyenne Curley-Payne cut that lead to 48-47 at the 1:33 mark with a layup. Hamilton hit a layup with 1:15 to play to give Hampton a 50-47 lead, before Allen hit two free throws with 21 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.

A Bailey trey in the final seconds proved immaterial to the outcome.

The Lady Pirates shot 36.7 percent (18-for-49) from the floor – including a 47.8 percent clip (11-for-23) in the second half. Hampton hit three of its 10 3-pointers and 13 of its 18 free throws. The Lady Pirates held a 41-25 edge on the glass.

Howard shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the floor and hit three of its nine 3-pointers. The Lady Bison turned the ball over just 11 times.

Doyle led Howard (7-7, 2-1 MEAC) with 14 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they play host to Morgan State at the HU Convocation Center 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.