ORANGEBURG, S.C. – In a game full of odd twists, junior Jephany Brown hit three free throws with 3.4 seconds left and Hampton survived two last-second shot attempts as the Lady Pirates escaped South Carolina State with a 51-50 win on Monday night.

South Carolina State had possession with 16 seconds left and found Brittany Drumgoole on the wing who was fouled by Brown on a 3-point attempt.  Drumgoole missed the first but hit the next two to put SCSU (5-16, 2-8) up 50-48.

Hampton (14-9, 8-2) called timeout to advance the ball to half-court.  The inbounds pass to Brown in the corner saw her attempt a 3-point shot and was fouled, ironically by Drumgoole with 3.4 seconds.  The junior drained all three free throws to put Hampton up 51-50.

South Carolina State called timeout to advance the ball and got two attempts for the win.  The final shot by Bryeasha Blair lodged between the rim and backboard as the horn sounded to end the game.

The final quarter saw four ties and four lead changes as Hampton took a 39-35 lead on a Monnazjea Finney-Smith layup with 7:16 left.    The lead grew to 46-40 on a Finney-Smith jumper with 5:28 left, but the Bulldogs got back into contention.

Drumgoole drained consecutive 3-pointers and with a pair of free throws by Mallory Stone put the hosts up 48-46 with 2:08 left.  A Kaylah Lupoe putback tied the game at 48-all with 16 seconds left to set up the ending.

Hampton (14-9, 8-2) found a little spark in the third quarter – in the form of sophomore K'Lynn Willis.  Willis scored 11 of Hampton's 15 points in the quarter and gave Hampton a 33-32 lead after three as she rebounded a missed 3-pointer from Adria Strothers with 0.3 seconds left.

Neither team could get much consistent offense going in the first half.  Freshman Ashley Bates scored the last eight points of the quarter for Hampton as they held a 12-11 lead after one.   In the second from the floor as the Bulldogs closed the half on a 9-2 run to lead 22-18.

Willis was the leading scorer in the game with 16 points for Hampton, while Finney-Smith had nine points and seven boards.  Drumgoole topped SCSU with 17 points off the bench and Blair added 10.

Hampton returns home to face Howard on February 11 at 4 pm in a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup.

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.