HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 5, 2025) … In a battle of the two Coastal Athletic Association's (CAA) HBCUs, North Carolina A&T (6-7, 2-0) came out on top, beating Hampton (4-9, 0-2) 75-48 before 865 fans at the Hampton Convocation Center in the conference home opener for the Lady Pirates.

Jasha Clinton continued to lead the way, scoring 18 points for the Lady Pirates. Clinton, the CAA's second leading scorer, is averaging 19.8 points per game over the last four outings.  Jordyn Dorsey and Ajia James shared scoring honors for North Carolina A&T with 15 points each.

A&T was perfect in the game's opening minutes. The Aggies made all five field goal attempts (including three three-pointers) and both free throws to lead 15-3 with 7:05 left. A trey by Hampton's CeCe Thomas accounted for Hampton's points. The Aggies led by as many as 14, 17-3, with 5:45 in the first quarter.

The Aggie's lead grew to as many as 18, 28-10, in the second quarter on a jumper by Darrionna Howard at the 5:31 mark. But the Lady Pirates outscored the Aggies 20-8 to close to 36-30 at intermission. After holding Clinton to just two points first quarter points, she tallied seven in the second quarter to spur the Hampton comeback. Malaka Cobb's three-pointers at the buzzer made it 36-30 at halftime.

At halftime, Clinton led all scorers with nine points. A&T's Maleia Bracone finished the half with eight points followed by Jordyn Dorsey with seven. After shooting 72.7 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Aggies shot 37.5 percent in the second period. Hampton shot 33.3 percent in the opening quarter before hitting 46.7 percent if its shots in the second quarter.

Tough defense by both teams kept the game close. Midway through the period A&T had scored just four points and Clinton had all five points for the Lady Pirates. Her bucket and free throw made the score 40-35 with 4:44 to go. But a 14-4 A&T run to end the quarter capped by a trey by Dorsey gave the Aggies a 54-39 lead after three quarters.

A 17-4 run to start the fourth quarter boosted A&T to its largest lead of the game, 71-43, midway through the final quarter. Just nine points were scored the rest of the way on the way to a 75-48 final score. The win was A&T's fourth in a row.

In addition to Dorsey and James, Chaniya Clark, and Bracone each scored double figures for the Aggies.

The Lady Pirates begin a two-game road swing with games at Elon on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. and an afternoon contest at Campbell on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2:00 p.m.  North Carolina A&T plays on Jan. 10 at Delaware.