NORFOLK, Va. (Nov. 21, 2025) … The Hampton Pirates used a 26-6 run over a nearly 10-minute span of the third and fourth quarters and then held off a frantic finish as they defeated Norfolk State 57-55 on Friday night in the Battle of the Bay at Joe Echols Hall.

"It was a good win, with the opposite end being last week. We put a lot of focus on us this week. Had good practice yesterday and a good shoot-around today. We told them that we had to stay close and how we responded to runs was going to be very important, and it was. They went on three of those runs, and we responded well. I think we are figuring it out at the right time and I am excited for what is to come for them," said Hampton University Head Coach Tamisha Augustin.

The win for Hampton (2-2) snapped a four-game losing skid to Norfolk State (2-5) and also broke the longest home court winning streak in NCAA Division I as the Spartans had not lost at home in 28 straight games dating back to February 2023.

It was a battle of runs early as the Spartans took a 43-31 lead with 97 seconds left in the third following a put back from Ciara Bailey. Hampton got a free throw from Kayla Lezama and a layup from Diamond Wiggins to trim the deficit to 43-34 at the end of the third quarter.

The Pirates opened the final frame with a triple from Lezama, an old-fashioned three-point play from Le'Asia Foreman and a jumper from Taylor Gibson to bring the margin to 43-42 at the 8:22 mark.

Following a couple of free throws from Ajanae Richardson, Foreman drained a pair from the line and a steal and layup from Lezama gave the Pirates a 46-45 lead with 6:34 on the clock. That was part of an 11-4 burst capped by a Foreman putback to lead 53-47 at the 2:26 mark.

Lezama gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night at 57-49 with a pull-up jumper with 51 seconds left, though the Spartans did have one last burst. A pair of three-point plays from Carmen Kweti and Jasha Clinton, the last being with 29 seconds left pulled the hosts to 57-55. Norfolk State forced a turnover and had a pair of last-second shot attempts bounce away.

Lezama was the leading scorer in the game for Hampton with a career-high 19 points and three steals. Foreman was next with nine points and shared the team-high with six rebounds. Kiki McElrath and Taylor Gibson added eight points apiece.

Hampton is right back in action on Monday night hosting Delaware State at 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.