NORFOLK, Va. – A wild fourth quarter comeback saw the Hampton University Lady Pirates outscore Norfolk State 28-14 to take a 58-57 victory in the Battle of the Bay at Joe Echols Hall on Saturday afternoon.

It was the sixth straight win for the Lady Pirates (11-7, 5-0).  That was the largest comeback since a 50-47 win at Drexel on Dec. 18, 2013 when Hampton rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit.

Freshman Ashley Bates recorded her first collegiate double-double with season-highs of 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.  Kaylah Lupoe added 12 points, nine boards and five blocked shots, while Monnazjea Finney-Smith chipped in with 12 points.

For most of the first three quarters, Hampton's offense was stuck in first gear scoring 10 points in each of the first three quarters.  A 3-pointer from Finney-Smith closed the first half as Hampton trailed 27-20.  In the third, the hosts opened on a 10-2 run to take their first 15-point lead of the game at 37-22 on a Jordan Strode 3-pointer with 7:22 left. 

The lead stayed in the 12-15-point range for most of the rest of the quarter as a Dominique Harper layup with 1:54 left put Norfolk State (9-8, 4-1) up 43-28.  DeJane James layup finished the scoring for the quarter as Hampton went into the fourth trailing 43-30.

A layup from Chanel Green trimmed the deficit to 45-34 with 9:05 left and started a 9-0 run over the next 2:23.  James drained a 3-ball to get Hampton under a 10-point deficit trailing 45-37 with 8:11 left and a pair of Finney-Smith free throws with 7:03 left pulled Hampton to 45-41. 

Following a 3-pointer from Alexis Long to push the margin to 50-43, Hampton scored seven of the next nine points to force a 52-all tie on consecutive 3-pointers from Finney-Smith and Bates with 3:35 left. 

Hampton ended the game scoring its last six points from the foul line as Bates was 5-of-6 in that time.  Bates, who entered the game hitting 49% from the foul line, tied the game at 54 with a pair of free throws at the 2:47 mark and then hit one of two 15 seconds later for a lead that Hampton wouldn't relinquish.

Her two free throws with 95 seconds left gave Hampton its largest lead of the game at 58-54 and set up a wild finish.  A Strode free throw and a layup from Kayla Roberts brought Norfolk State to 58-57 with 68 seconds left.  Each team missed three shots in the final minute and a pair of NSU free throws with two seconds left by Khalilah Ali bounced off to give Hampton the win.

After hitting 13-of-51 from the field in the first three quarters, Hampton was 6-of-12 from the floor in the final 10 minutes (50%) and 3-of-5 from behind the arc (60%) to go with 13-of-16 from the line (81.3%).  Joining the three in double figures, were a trio at six points each in James, Green and Georgianna Gilbeaux.

Hampton returns home for a three-game homestand starting with a make-up game on Jan. 25 hosting South Carolina State at 5 pm.

For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5906 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.