HAMPTON, Va. – Behind a career-high 19 points from junior guard Ryan Jordan, the Hampton University women's basketball team won its conference opener 63-43 over Morgan State Monday evening at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Lady Pirates (3-5, 1-0 MEAC) have won their last three games.
 
Jordan (Manassas, Va.) shot 9-for-12 from the floor, making her only 3-point attempt of the night and grabbing five rebounds. Redshirt junior forward Tyler Hobgood (Oxford, N.C.) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.
 
Senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) also had eight points, as well as five assists and five rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 41.8 percent (28-for-67) from the floor and hit seven of their 21 3-pointers. Hampton also held a 44-39 edge on the glass, and the Lady Pirates turned 23 Morgan State turnovers into 23 points.
 
The Bears tied the game at 8-8 with 13:55 left in the first half, before the Lady Pirates scored the next 10 points, taking an 18-8 lead at the 8:13 mark after a jumper from sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.).
 
Ultimately, that run ballooned to 23-3, with Hampton taking a 31-11 lead at the 2:22 mark following a jumper in the paint from Jordan.
 
Morgan State went the final 13:55 of the first half without a field goal.
 
A 3-pointer from senior guard Jackie Marshall (Hackensack, N.J.) with 11 seconds left in the first half sent the Lady Pirates into the locker room with a 34-15 lead. Morgan State shot just 4-for-23 (17.4 percent) in the first half.
 
The Bears cut Hampton's lead to 40-23 with 14:24 left, but the Lady Pirates answered with a 15-5 run to take a 55-28 lead with 8:47 left to play following a fastbreak layup from Tate-DeFreitas.
 
Jordan's trey at the 6:00 mark put Hampton up 58-30.
 
That wound up being the Lady Pirates' largest lead of the game, and a 3-pointer from Marshall with 1:34 left gave the Lady Pirates a 61-37 lead.
 
Morgan State (2-7, 0-2 MEAC) shot just 29.8 percent (14-for-47) from the floor and went 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) from behind the arc.
 
Braennan Farrar led the Bears with 16 points.
 
The Lady Pirates return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 17, when they play host to No. 1 South Carolina at 7 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.