HAMPTON, Va. (Mar. 11, 2026) … The Hampton University women's basketball team will open play in the 2026 Credit Union1 CAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. against Elon at CareFirst Arena.

Hampton (10-20, 4-14) finished 11th in the standings, while Elon (15-15, 10-8) was sixth. The Phoenix swept the two meetings with the Pirates this season.

The game will be streamed on FloCollege.
 
ABOUT HAMPTON (10-20/4-14)
Hampton dropped a pair of contests to Elon this season losing 84-75 on January 4 at Elon and 78-53 at home on January 26.

Kiki McElrath leads the team in scoring through the regular season averaging 13 points per game, free throw percentage (.818) and second in steals (41), while Kayla Lezama is right behind at 12.4 points per game. Aaryn Battle is third in scoring (7.7 ppg), second in assists (85) and in free throw percentage (.815). Olivia Smith leads the team in assists (94), while Le'Asia Foreman is leading in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and in steals (42).

As a team, entering the final regular season game the Pirates are averaging 60.1 points per game and allowing 63.4. On the boards, they trail 40.8-to-33.7 per game. From the field they are hitting 37 percent (666-1801) and allowing opponents to hit 40.7 percent (719-1766). From 3-point range, Hampton is 180-of-631 for 28.5 percent while the opposition is 158-of-534 for 29.6 percent. Hampton has averaged 14.2 turnovers per game and force 17.0 per contest.
 
ABOUT ELON (15-15/10-8)
The Phoenix are looking for their first CAA Tournament win since 2020.
 
Elon is paced by La'Nae Corbett who averages 11.7 points per game, while Ashanti Fox (8.7 ppg) and Laila Anderson (8.6 ppg) are next in line. On the boards, Quinzia Fulmore and Tyana Walker lead the Phoenix averaging 5.0 rebounds apiece. Maraja Pass leads in assists (101), while her and Corbett share the team lead in steals with 41 each.

As a team, Elon is averaging 65.1 points per game and allowing 62.3. They're hitting 39.7 percent from the field (717-1805) and their opponents are hitting 40.4 percent (649-1608). From 3-point range they are hitting 27.9 percent (156-560) and allowing their opponents to hit at a 29.1 percent clip (164-563). At the foul line, Elon hits at a 72.2 percent rate (363-503), while opponents are at 72.1 percent rate (406-563). On the boards, they are outrebounding their opponents 37.5 to 34.4 per game. The Phoenix are forcing 19.5 turnovers per game and turning the ball over 17.0 times per game.
 
SERIES VS. ELON
Elon leads the all-time series 6-2 and have won the last four meetings.
 
TRIPLE ME – TIMES 11
In the regular season finale against William & Mary, the Pirates went 11-of-31 from 3-point range to set a couple single-game marks. The 11 three-pointers equal the eighth most in a game in school history. The last time Hampton had more than 11 in a game was in 2021 against USC Upstate when they tied the single-game mark of 14 triples, while the 31 attempts equal the sixth most in a game in school history.
 
LEZAMA EARNS ALL-CAA
Junior Kayla Lezama was named on Wednesday to the Third Team All-CAA squad as the postseason honors were released by the league. A Boston native, Lezama is 12th in scoring in the league (12.4 ppg), 11th in FT% (.770), 15th in 3PT made per game (1.5). In league games, she is 11th in scoring (13.1 ppg), 21st in FG% (.363), leads in 3PT% (.389), second in FT% (.900), 10th in 3PT made per game (1.6) and 24th in blocks per game (0.6).

She had a season highs of 29 points at home against Charleston, seven rebounds against Delaware State at home, four assists against Charleston and at UNCW, two blocks against N.C. A&T and Drexel and four steals at Eastern Kentucky. She is the third Pirate to make All-CAA as Nylah Young was a third-team pick in 2023 and Camrynn Hill was also a third-team pick in 2024.
 
RECORD BOOK TWEAKING
Several tweaks have been made in the record books through the early stages of the 2025-26 season:
• Against W&M in the regular season finale, the Pirates equaled the sixth most made triples in a game (11) and equaled the eighth-most attempts in a game (31).
• The Pirates held the Apprentice School Builders to the fewest points in a game (21) 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).
• Against Gardner-Webb on November 16, the Pirates scored the eighth-fewest points in a game in the NCAA D1 era equaling the mark against Stony Brook (3/7/24) scoring 35 points.
 
BATTLE RETURNS…TO FANFARE
Sewell, New Jersey native and junior guard Aaryn Battle returned to action at Drexel after missing seven games on February 6 to a friendly return as her high school basketball team, Camden Catholic, were sitting behind the Pirates bench cheering on their alum. She had five points, four rebounds and four assists in her return to the court.
 
LEZAMA HITS HER HOMETOWN
Playing in front of over 50 family members in her hometown of Boston, Kayla Lezama and Team Lezama, made an impact down the stretch of Hampton's 77-71 win over Northeastern. The family made enough noise down the stretch as Northeastern missed three out of four free throws in a crucial stretch with two minutes left and Hampton holding a 69-67 lead. Lezama had a steal in the final 30 seconds and hit one of two free throws for the final margin.
 
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.
 
BREAKING MARKS - DEFENSE
The 48 points allowed to UNCW on January 30 is the lowest against a NCAA Division I opponent this season. William & Mary scored 49 against the Pirates on January 16 and Stony Brook scored 54 points in the CAA opener.

Those 48 points are also the second lowest allowed in a CAA contest since Hampton joined the league. Hofstra scored 42 points in falling 49-42 to Hampton on March 1, 2024.
 
BREAKING MARKS – OFFENSE
The 77 points in the win at Northeastern were the most scored by the Pirates in a conference game under head coach Tamisha Augustin. They had scored 75 points against Elon on January 4, Charleston on January 11 and in the CAA Tournament last year against Monmouth.
 
APPROACHING SINGLE SEASON TEAM TOP 10'S
Coming down the home stretch of the regular season, the Pirates have cracked a couple of team all-time top 10 categories.

They have hit 180 three-pointers which puts them third on the all-time single season list. Hampton is 15 triples from passing the second-place mark of 194 by the 2013-14 team and 21 from passing the record of 200 by the 2011-12 team.

They also have blocked 118 shots as a team and are now ninth on the all-time single season list. They are 10 from tying the 2004-05 and 2011-12 teams with 128 each.
 
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.

In Hampton's Battle of the Bay win over Norfolk State, the Pirates picked up where that left off last season scoring a 57-55 win which snapped a 28-game home court winning streak for the Spartans. They pulled another two-point win on November 29 with a 58-56 victory over Buffalo.

So far in 2025-26, the Pirates are 5-6 in games decided by 10 points or less.
 
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.
 
FRESHMAN BLOCK PARTY
Freshman Akilah Shelton made her presence known in the HBCU Hoops Invitational in Orlando as she swatted a season-high five shots in each of the two Hampton wins. She had three at Eastern Kentucky and in the CAA opening win over Stony Brook. The Georgia native and has had at least two swats in 14 of her 28 games played.
Shelton moved into the single season Top 10 list with five blocks over two games against Drexel and Hofstra. She went into ninth after her four blocks against Drexel on February 20 and now has 48 on the year. Shelton is alone in seventh now after one blocked shot against W&M with 49 and is 12th nationally among freshmen in blocked shots.