WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Jan. 16, 2026) … After trailing 12-2 in the first five minutes, the Hampton University women's basketball team went on a 39-12 run to pull away for a 59-49 win over William & Mary inside Kaplan Arena on Friday night.

The win over the Tribe was the first for Hampton (8-8, 2-2) since November 19, 2009 when they won 71-66 at home and the first in Williamsburg since a 72-59 win on December 19, 2008. The victory also enabled the Pirates to match last year's victory total.

William & Mary opened the game with a 12-2 burst as a layup from Kyah Smith forced a Hampton timeout at the 4:44 mark of the opening quarter. A three-pointer from Kiki McElrath snapped the drought with 3:29 left.

That triple from McElrath propelled Hampton on a quarter closing 12-4 run. Kayla Lezama drained a pair of triples in that burst and went 1-for-2 at the line with five seconds left in the quarter as Hampton trailed 16-14. Lezama had eight straight points in that run for the Pirates and had 11 in the opening period to top the team.

Hampton opened the second quarter on a 7-0 burst to take a 21-16 lead on a driving jumper from Olivia Smith with 7:16 left that forced a Tribe timeout. The lead grew to 25-18 on a McElrath jumper with 5:16 on the clock. That bucket was preceded by a pair of free throws from her.

Another triple from Lezama gave the Pirates a 30-22 lead for their largest lead of the opening half. Hampton was 6-for-11 from the floor in the second stanza (54.5%). Lezama had 14 points at the half and McElrath added 12.

McElrath continued with the first two buckets of the second half, including a three-pointer to lead 35-22. After a pair of Fox free throws, Smith joined the three-point party with a pair of long distance shots pushing the advantage to 41-24 forcing another Tribe timeout at the 6:39 mark.  A free throw from Akilah Shelton pushed the lead to Hampton's largest at 42-24.
The Tribe went on a 6-2 burst as a Fox jumper cut the deficit to 44-30 with 1:51 remaining in the third. A Monet Dance free throw closed the quarter scoring for the Tribe as they trailed 44-31 after three.

That run expanded to start the fourth quarter as a Dance triple made the margin 44-34 just 32 seconds into the period. Lezama got back into the scoring with a driving layup for a 48-36 Hampton advantage. Her beat the shot clock triple put Hampton up 53-40 at the 4:23 mark. Down the stretch, Hampton was 4-of-7 from the line in the final four minutes and kept the Tribe at arms length.

Lezama paced Hampton with 23 points and McElrath added 21. Le'Asia Foreman had 11 rebounds and four steals to go with four points, while Shelton had a season-high four steals.
Hampton hits the road again on Sunday afternoon heading to Greensboro to tangle with N.C. A&T at 2 p.m.