Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. – Anyone with a nagging sense of déjà vu will be forgiven.

For the third straight year, the Hampton University women's basketball team will square off against rival Howard for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship. The game will tip at 1 p.m. at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

The game will be televised via tape delay on ESPNU on Sunday at 11 a.m. It will also be streamed live on ESPN3.com.

The top-seeded Lady Pirates (27-5) advanced thanks to a 78-52 semifinal win over Coppin State on Friday. Junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) led the way with a career-high 26 points, while senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.), the MEAC Player of the Year, added 20 points and a team-high 12 rebounds for her 20th double-double of the season.

Hampton has won a Div. I program-record 18 straight games – tied for the ninth-best winning streak in all of Division I. The Lady Pirates also set a new program Div. I record for most wins in a season.

Hampton, making its fifth straight appearance in the MEAC championship game, is looking to become the first MEAC women's team to win four straight tournament titles since, ironically, Howard. The Lady Bison accomplished the four-peat from 1987-90.

No. 3 seed Howard (20-10) advanced to the title game by beating No. 2 seed North Carolina A&T 55-42 on Friday. Senior guard Saadia Doyle scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while senior guard Kara Smith added 11 points.

The Lady Bison went 18-10 in the regular season, finishing third in the MEAC with a mark of 12-4. Howard, in its fifth season under head coach Niki Reid-Geckeler, returns all five starters from last season and was tabbed the preseason favorite in the MEAC.

Doyle was named Preseason Player of the Year in the MEAC, and she leads the Lady Bison in both scoring and rebounding; heading into Friday's semifinal, she was averaging 20.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest.

The Lady Bison have won four straight games.

Hampton is 25-20 all-time against Howard, and the Lady Pirates have won the last nine meetings — including both of this season's match-ups (52-50 on Jan. 12 and 67-45 on Jan. 28). Howard last defeated Hampton on Dec. 5, 2009, a 48-47 defeat in Washington, D.C.

Since joining the MEAC in 1995-96, the Lady Pirates have won six regular-season and six tournament titles — including each of the last three under head coach David Six.

Hampton has a winning record against every MEAC team.

Hampton's first regular-season MEAC title came in 1998-99, and the Lady Pirates first won the MEAC Tournament, and its corresponding NCAA bid, in 2000. The Lady Pirates clinched this season's regular season title, their third straight, on March 2 with a 59-39 win over Florida A&M.

Under Six, the Lady Pirates are 15-8 on neutral courts over the past four seasons — including a 3-2 record in such games last season. The Lady Pirates won all three MEAC Tournament games last season, and also beat Central Michigan on a neutral court.

The Lady Pirates are 3-4 on neutral courts this season, defeating Evansville 64-45 on Dec. 21, beating Delaware State 63-28 on Wednesday, and beating Coppin State 78-52 on Friday.

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.