WILMINGTON, N.C. (Jan. 30, 2026) … A quick Hampton (9-11, 3-5) start helped the Pirates snap a three-game losing streak on Friday night.

Aisha Dabo scored 16 points to lead three in double figures as the Pirates jumped out to an 8-2  lead early and defeated UNCW 60-48 in front of 759 at Trask Coliseum.

Dabo opened the game on a run scoring eight of Hampton's first 10 points. Her driving layup off a feed from Kayla Lezama gave Hampton a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout.

UNCW came out of the media timeout on a 7-0 burst to take an 11-10 lead following a driving layup by Torin Rogers with 3:43 remaining. Hampton answered that with a quarter closing 10-2 run with Dabo finishing with a layup as Hampton held a 21-13 lead after one.

The 21 point first quarter is a season high against an NCAA Division I opponent for Hampton.

The Pirates cranked up again in the second quarter on an early 8-2 burst as a corner jumper from Le'Asia Foreman forced the Seahawks to call a timeout following a 28-15 lead at 6:25.
Hampton forced 17 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes scoring 20 points off those turnovers as the Pirates took a 30-20 lead into the locker room. Dabo topped the Pirates in the first half with 10 points, with Foreman and Lezama having six apiece. Akilah Shelton matched her season high with six rebounds to lead Hampton on the boards.

Hampton forced four turnovers early as they pushed the advantage to 36-20 following a Dabo layup at the 6:46 mark. An 11-3 run with a pair of triples pulled UNCW to 39-31 following a Paige Smith three-ball with 95 seconds left.

McElrath hit a pair of free throws to slow that closing run from the Seahawks to put Hampton up 41-31 after three. She opened the scoring for Hampton in the fourth hitting her first field goal of the game and a layup from Shelton off a Lezama feed forced a UNCW timeout as Hampton kept a double-digit margin at 45-35 with 7:51 left.

UNCW made another run after Hampton grew the advantage to 53-40 following a Lezama putback with 3:24 on the clock. Silver responded with a driving layup and then a triple from Mary made the margin 53-45.

McElrath drained her first triple of the night to beat the shot clock putting Hampton back up 56-45 with 93 seconds remaining. Following a missed three-ball from the hosts, Lezama scored a driving layup to lead 58-45 with 56 seconds left to ice the game.

Lezama added 14 points and four assists, while McElrath had 11 points. Shelton hauled in a season best 10 rebounds to go with her season-high matching six points. She did record a blocked shot and is now tied for 10^th on the Hampton University NCAA Division I era single season blocked shot list with 31.

The nine wins for the Pirates tops last season's final total of 8-23, while the three wins in CAA play match last year's output.

Hampton is now scheduled to host North Carolina A&T on Sunday in a game that is now scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.