HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team picked up its seventh straight win on Monday night, upending rival Howard 67-45 at the HU Convocation Center.

The Lady Pirates (16-5, 7-0 MEAC) have won the last nine meetings over Howard.

Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) and junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) each had a team-high 16 points, while Bennett also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) added 15 points, while junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) had nine points and a team-high eight assists.

The Lady Pirates opened the game on a 7-2 run, taking that lead at the 17:32 mark after an Avant layup, but Howard answered with seven unanswered points to tie the game at 7-7 with 15:58 left in the first half after a a layup from Saadia Doyle.

After Cheyenne Curley-Payne cut Hampton's lead to 11-9 at the 12:55 mark with a layup, the Lady Pirates went on a 14-0 run to take a 25-9 lead with 7:18 left in the half after an Avant free throw. The run ultimately ballooned to 20-3, as Hampton led 31-12 after two free throws from redshirt-freshman forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) at the 5:43 mark.

Allen hit two of her four first-half 3-pointers during that run.

Jerrelle Gorham cut Hampton's lead to 33-19 with 4:20 left in the half with a 3-pointer, but the Lady Pirates answered with seven straight points to go up 40-19 after another Allen trey at the 3:02 mark.

Hampton led 40-23 at the break, after shooting 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and hitting four of its seven 3-pointers. The Lady Pirates also hit 10 of their 13 first-half free throws.

Hampton led 53-31 with 11:38 left in the second half, after Hamilton sank a layup, then Avant sank a layup of her own with 9:26 left to give the Lady Pirates a 56-31 lead and cap a 9-4 Hampton run.

After Doyle hit two free throws with 2:52 left, cutting Hampton's lead to 60-42, the Lady Pirates rattled off five straight points to take a 65-42 lead after a pair of Bennett free throws with 1:45 left to play.

The Lady Pirates shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the floor and hit five of their 15 3-pointers. Hampton also went 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the free throw line and scored 19 points off of 19 Howard turnovers.

Howard (11-8, 5-2 MEAC) shot 32.7 percent (18-for-55) from the floor and hit just one of 11 3-pointers. The Lady Bison also hit 18 of 26 free throws, and Howard out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 38-37.

Curley-Payne led Howard with 14 points. Doyle, the MEAC's leading scorer, managed just 10 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they head to Baltimore, Md. to take on Morgan State at 2 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.