DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University women's basketball team found itself in a defensive battle with Delaware State Monday evening at Memorial Hall, but the Lady Pirates still emerged with a 49-41 victory.

The Lady Pirates (22-5, 13-0 MEAC) have won 13 straight games and went 13-1 on the road this season.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) led the way with 19 points and a team-high 13 rebounds to record her 16th double-double of the season. As of Monday, Avant ranks 14th in the nation in double-doubles.

Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) added 15 points to go along with five assists. Senior forward Ariel Phelps (Virginia Beach, Va.) pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Pirates led 8-3 after Avant hit a pair of free throws with 16:29 left in the first half, but Delaware State fought back and cut that lead to 12-9 at the 11:06 mark after a layup from Tierra Hawkins.

From there, Hampton went on a 10-3 run to take a 22-12 lead with 4:07 left in the half after Hamilton hit a jumper. The Lady Hornets closed the half on a 5-1 spurt to give the Lady Pirates a 23-17 lead at the half.

Hamilton led all players with 10 points at the half.

The Lady Pirates stormed out to start the second half, going on a 6-0 run and taking a 29-17 lead at the 18:04 mark after a stickback from Avant. Junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added a jumper with 15:59 to play to put the Lady Pirates up 37-21.

When sophomore center Verdine Warner (St. Vincent, Grenadines) hit a layup with 11:49 to play, it gave the Lady Pirates a 43-25 lead. But the Lady Hornets fought back, answering with an 11-2 run, cutting Hampton's lead to 45-36 with 5:29 to play after Kianna D'Oliveira hit a pair of free throws.

Avant hit a jumper with 5:06 left to put the Lady Pirates up 47-36.

Delaware State out-scored the Lady Pirates 5-2 down the stretch, but could never claw any closer than within eight, after D'Oliveira sank a layup in the closing seconds to make the score 49-41 in favor of the Lady Pirates.

The Lady Pirates shot just 28.6 percent (18-for-63) from the floor, hitting two of their 10 3-pointers and 11 of their 17 free throws (64.7 percent). Hampton out-rebounded Delaware State 44-37 and scored 16 points off 19 Lady Hornet turnovers.

Delaware State (9-17, 6-7 MEAC) shot 34.1 percent (15-for-44) from the floor and hit two of its seven 3-pointers (28.6 percent). The Lady Hornets were just 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe.

Hawkins led the Lady Hornets with 12 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they take on Florida A&M at 4 p.m. at the HU Convocation Center. 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.