HAMPTON, Va. (Nov. 15, 2025) … The Hampton Pirates women's basketball team hits the road again this weekend to visit former conference rival Gardner-Webb on Sunday for a 2 p.m. tip inside Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and will have live stats available.

The series between the teams is tied 4-4 with Hampton winning last year's meeting at home 76-67.

HAMPTON
The Pirates are back in western North Carolina after dropping a 77-48 decision on November 9 at Wake Forest.  Taylor Gibson and Kiki McElrath paced the Pirates with 12 points apiece, while Aaryn Battle was the team leader in rebounds (6), assists (7) and steals (3).

McElrath leads the Pirates in scoring at 14.5 points per game, while Gibson joins her in double figures at 12 per game. On the boards, Battle tops the list averaging 5.5 per game, while Gibson is right behind at 5.0 per contest. McElrath has hit six of Hampton's 14 3-pointers at a 42.9 percent clip to lead, while Olivia Smith has dished out seven assists per game.

As a team, the Pirates are averaging 76.5 points per game and allowing 49.0. On the boards, they hold a slight 37-to-36 advantage and are hitting 43 percent from the field (64-of-149) and allowing opponents to hit 42.4 percent (39-of-92). From 3-point range, Hampton is 14-of-49 for 28.6 percent and the opposition is 4-of-26 for 15.4 percent. Hampton has averaged 14.5 turnovers per game and forced 31.5 per contest.

GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb enters the contest 0-4 after opening with four straight road games. On Thursday, the Runnin' Bulldogs dropped an 87-51 decision at Virginia Tech as Jaelyn Acker had 11 points and Makayla Leggette added 10 for Gardner-Webb.

Nyla Walker leads Gardner-Webb in scoring off the bench averaging 13 points per game. Amira Ofunniyin averages 8.3 points and a team best 7.8 rebounds per game. Acker and Legette average 8.8 points apiece, while Legette is averaging 3.3 assists through four games.

As a team, they are averaging 55.5 ppg points per game while allowing 74.3 points per game. On the boards, they have been outrebounded 43.3 to 29.5 per game. From the floor, Gardner-Webb is hitting just over 36 percent from the field (78-214), while opponents are at 42.2 percent (103-244). The Runnin' Bulldogs are hitting 32.9 percent from 3-point range (26-79), with their opponents at 28 percent (30-107).

RECORD BOOK TWEAKING
In the home opener against The Apprentice School – the Pirates made several additions to the record book in a 105-21 win.

• The Pirates held the Builders to the fewest points in a game in Hampton history topping the previous mark of 26 points done twice, last being in 2010 in a 67-26 win over Winston-Salem State.
• The 84-point margin of victory was the second largest in school history and the largest in the NCAA D1-era (1995-present).
• The 51.7% shooting from the field was the first time that the Pirates have been over 50% from the field since the end of the 2018-19 season when they hit 53% against High Point.
• The 10 assists for Smith were the most in a game since Amyah Reaves dished 10 helpers against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 17, 2024.
• The 26 assists were the third-most in a game in the NCAA D1 era and the most since they dished out 29 assists against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Dec. 15, 2018.
• The 45 field goals made were the most in a game in the NCAA D1 era topping the 44 against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Dec. 15, 2018.
• The 87 field goal attempts were the fourth most in a game in the NCAA D1 era
• The 105 points were the third most in a game in the NCAA D1 era. Hampton scored 106 against Howard (2/28/15) and 115 against Mid-Atlantic Christian (12/15/18).

PIRATES IN NOVEMBER
In the 51-year history of Hampton University women's basketball, the Pirates are 103-119 in the month of November. The Pirates are 2-6 all-time on November 16 having lost their last game on this date to Norfolk State last season 62-53 at home.

PLAYED THEM TIGHT
Last year, the Pirates were involved in 18 games, including seven of their last 10, that were decided by 10 points or less and sported a 7-11 mark in those games.

76 WAS IT
In three of the Pirates' eight wins in 2024-25, Hampton hit 76 points which turned into a season-high. The Pirates scored 76 against Gardner-Webb (76-67), Stony Brook in the CAA Tournament (76-75) and at Georgia (76-74 OT).

TEAMMATES ONCE FOES
Two of Hampton's four Power4 transfers were on opposite sides of a pair of ACC matchups in the 2023-24 season as Kayla Lezama (Boston College) and Aaryn Battle (Pitt) faced off. While each may have gotten the better of the individual matchups, Lezama's Eagles were victorious in both encounters.

On Jan. 14, 2024, an 84-71 BC win, Lezama had six points and one rebound while Battle had four points and four boards. Almost two months later on March 3, Lezama didn't scratch while Battle had two points and six rebounds though BC won 84-58.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE LIST
The Pirates have had three triple-doubles in the NCAA Division I Era (1995-present). LaShondra Dixon had the first one on Feb. 12, 2001 against Coppin State as she had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Almost two years later, also against Coppin State, Lynetta Sullivan had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Jan. 13, 2003.

The last triple-double for Hampton University was done by Malia Tate-DeFreitas on Jan. 9, 2016 against Bethune-Cookman as she had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

PIRATES ON MONUMENTAL SPORTS
A total of 10 women's basketball games will appear on Monumental Sports Network starting on November 24 with the next home game for Hampton as they host Delaware State.
Millions of households in the network's coverage area can watch college basketball games on MNMT throughout the upcoming season. Local basketball fans can watch the games through their Pay TV subscription, on monumentalplus.com, or by downloading the state-of-the-art Monumental+ app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, DIRECTV Gemini, Fire TV, Roku, X1, and Xfinity Xumo and using an eligible TV Everywhere log-in.  
Nov. 24: Delaware State, 7 pm*
Jan. 2: Stony Brook, 7 pm*
Jan. 11: Charleston, 2 pm
Jan. 23: Campbell, 7 pm*
Jan. 25: Elon, 2 pm
Feb. 1: N.C. A&T, 2 pm
Feb. 13: Towson, 7 pm
Feb. 20: Drexel, 7 pm*
Feb. 22: Monmouth, 2 pm*
March 7: William & Mary, 2pm*
* - games on MNMT2

OH CAPTAIN – MY TRI-CAPTAINS
The Hampton Pirates named tri-captains for the 2025-26 season and those were seniors Kiya Dorroh, Olivia Smith and junior Kayla Lezama.

NEXT UP
Hampton finishes a three-game road swing on Friday, November 21 heading across the Hampton Roads Tunnel to tangle with Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay at 5:30 p.m. at Joe Echols Hall.