DOVER, Del. (Dec. 30, 2024) … Hampton (4-7) celebrated New Year's Day early by turning on the jets in the second half and cruising to a 64-47 victory over Delaware State (3-10) in a Monday afternoon matinee.
Jasha Clinton scored 22 points to lead the way for the Lady Pirates, just two points shy of her Hampton season high. The Lady Pirates shot a season-high 49.2 percent (29-59) for the game while limiting Delaware State to 30.4 percent (14-46) from the field. Ten players reached the scoring column for Hampton with Clinton (22),
CeCe Thomas (12), and Janae Dublin (11) scoring double figures.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter. After a field goal by Thomas tied the score at 2-2, Clinton took control by scoring Hampton's next six points to boost the Lady Pirates to an 8-7 lead with 4:03 to go in the opening quarter.
Malaka Cobb scored Hampton's next four points as Hampton led 12-9. Hampton held a 14-11 lead after the first period. The Lady Pirate defense limited the Hornets to 28.6 percent shooting from the field and forced eight turnovers. Delaware State outrebounded the Lady Pirates 13-6.
A driving layup by
Le'Asia Foreman and buckets by
Amyah Reaves and
Aisha Dabo made it 20-11 at 6:21 to go in the half. Delaware State scored its first field goal of the quarter with 5:24 to go in the half on a basket by Circe Rubio Remolar.
With Hampton leading 22-15, Delaware State reeled off nine straight points to take a 24-22 lead. A technical foul on the Lady Pirate bench led to a pair of Hornet free throws, a trey and two baskets as Delaware State took that lead. But Clinton came to the rescue with a basket and a lay-up as Hampton retook the lead 26-24 at intermission.
Hampton shot 43.3 percent from the floor in the first half while the Hornets were shot just 30.8 percent shooting. The Hornets outrebounded Hampton 24-11 but Hampton forced 13 Hornet turnovers. Delaware State's Kiarra Mcelrath led scorers with 11 points and Hampton's Clinton had 10 first-half points. There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first half.
After a Hornet trey gave Delaware State a 27-26 lead, Hampton took control of the game. The Lady Pirates scored 20 of the next 26 points including nine consecutive points to lead 47-33 before Delaware State called a timeout with 1:41 to go in the quarter. Hampton led 49-33 after three quarters, outscoring Delaware State 23-9 in the period.
The Hampton lead grew to as many as 27, 64-27 with 2:49 to go as Hampton cruised to a win in its final game of 2024. The Lady Pirates outscored the Hornets 15-14 in the final quarter.
Hampton leads the series over the Hornets by a 40-13 margin. The Lady Pirates have posted a 17-7 at Memorial Hall Gym and have won 20 of the last 21 meetings between the teams. The two last met on Dec. 12, 2022, with Hampton winning 67-48. Hampton topped last year's win total with the victory.
Hampton will begin league play on Jan. 3 when the Lady Pirates play at William & Mary in its CAA season opener.
