NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton Lady Pirates withstood a frantic fourth quarter rally from second-seeded Bethune-Cookman to eliminate the Wildcats 61-60 in the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at the Norfolk Scope.

With the win, Hampton advances to its second straight final and will face top-seeded North Carolina A&T State approximately 4pm on Saturday.

In the fourth, Hampton opened its largest lead at 15 points on a Dejane' James jumper with 8:41 left for a 52-37 advantage.  Bethune-Cookman responded with a 19-5 run to trail 57-56 on an Angel Golden 3-pointer with 2:12 left. 

Free throws by Ashley Bates with 1:39 left and K'lynn Willis with 11 seconds left put Hampton ahead 59-57.  Bethune-Cookman had three 3-point attempts in one possession in the final 30 seconds but all were short.  The third one fell into the hands of Mikayla Sayle who alertly called timeout with eight seconds left.

Hampton milked the clock down to 3.9 seconds before Monnazjea Finney-Smith was fouled and hit two free throws to lead 61-57.  A halfcourt shot from Brianna Battle made the final 61-60.

The Lady Pirates hit the Wildcats with a 10-0 run over a five-minute span of the first quarter to take an 18-7 lead on a Mikayla Sayle layup with 48 seconds left in the quarter.

Hampton kept the pressure on in the second quarter pushing the lead to 14 points twice, the last being on a Finney-Smith 3-pointer with 38 seconds left for a 34-20 lead.

Sayle was the leading scorer for Hampton with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Bates had 11 points, six boards and three steals.  Finney-Smitih added 10 points and four rebounds as Hampton out-rebounded Bethune-Cookman 35-32.

For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.