Pirates Fall In Nail-biter To Spartans 53-50 - Hampton University Athletics

Saturday, November 14

Hampton, Va.

6:00 PM

Hampton University

1-3,0-0CAA

Norfolk State

2-3,0-0MEAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Norfolk St.	12	15	14	12	53
Hampton	16	12	6	16	50

Photo by: Berkely Lipton/Hampton Athletics

11.14.26 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. (November 14, 2026) … In the 100^th meeting between the two teams, Norfolk State (2-3) slipped past 53-50 Hampton (1-3) in a nail-biter that went down to the final second. An audience of 1,967 were on their feet in the final minutes as the Pirates rallied from a seven-point deficit to tie the score in the final minute.

"We found our offense and our intensity in the final two minutes. Pressure defense is part of our identity," Coach Tamisha Augustin said. "We lost our mojo a couple of times and couldn't score. We dug a hole in the fourth quarter and fought back but couldn't quite couldn't dig our way out."

After successfully employing a suffocating full court press against the Apprentice School in a 103-43 win. Coach Tamisha Augustin's Pirates pressed Norfolk State forcing eight first quarter turnovers and 19 for the game. The Pirates led 16-12 after the first period behind the play of Justus Fitzgerald who tallied six points.

The Spartans battled back scoring seven straight points to take a 25-21 lead with 3:01 left before halftime. But a lay-up by Fitzgerald and back-to-back treys by Kiki McElrath put the Pirates back in the lead. Hampton held a 28-27 lead at intermission.

McElrath led all scorers with 10 first-half points while Norfolk State's Jizelle James added eight. The team stats were as close as the halftime score.

Norfolk State scored five straight points to open the third quarter and opened a 32-28 lead. A long three-pointer by McElrath and an additional free throw tied the score 32-32 at the 7:56 mark. Norfolk State snapped a 3:07 scoreless stretch with a field goal by Asia Keels to lead 34-32 with 4:58 left in the quarter.

Seven straight points by Norfolk State gave the Spartans their largest lead of the game, 41-34, with 1:27 left in the third period. Hampton did not score in the final 4:26 and were outscored 14-6 in the quarter.

McElrath hit a long trey to open the fourth quarter and close the deficit to 41-37. A lay-up by Hampton's Maya Woodson made it 41-39 before a Spartan bucket.

After back-and-forth play, the Pirates made their run. A 7-0 Hampton run in the closing minutes tied the score 48-48 after a steal and basket by Aaryn Battle followed by a steal and lay-up by Arlisha Boston with 57.2 seconds left. A lay-up by Norfolk State's Cire Worley and a basket by Jizelle James put the Spartans up by four with 23 seconds left.

A quick basket by Hampton's Zoey Rixter made it 52-50. But James made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 53-50. McElrath's three-point attempt in the final second missed the mark.

McElrath honored in pregame ceremonies for recording her 1,000^th career point. She is averaging 22.7 points per game this season.

The Pirates played without the services of last year's leading scorer and preseason all-conference pick Kayla Lezama, who is out indefinitely with injury.

The game with Norfolk State is the last home game for the Pirates until Dec. 14 versus St. Francis. Over the next three weeks, the Pirates play in North Carolina (High Point), in Delaware (Delaware), in South Carolina (Winthrop) and in Washington, D.C. (Howard).