Hampton overcame a sluggish first half start en route to a 67-61 victory over visiting Morgan State on Monday evening at the Hampton Convocation Center.

In the early going of the game, the Lady Bears scored six unanswered points before Laura Lewis hit a jumper at the 16:57 mark to give Hampton (11-7, 5-1 MEAC) its first score of the night. Nearly four minutes later, the Lady Pirates seized the lead when Artavia Burns connected on a pair of free throws, giving her team a 13-12 lead. Hampton went on to lead by as many as seven points, that margin coming with 5:49 left before intermission, when Quanneisha Perry put the Lady Pirates up 24-17.

The second half saw the Lady Pirates build their lead back up to six points in the first minute-and-a-half of play, only to see Morgan State mount a ferocious rally, taking the lead at the 17:22 mark with a jumper by Jasmine Sellers.

With 6:13 left in the game, Perry’s outside jumper gave the Lady Pirates a 53-51 advantage, a lead that they’d never relinquish, although Morgan State did make a push with 4.15 left in the game to tie at 56-all.

Down the stretch, the Lady Pirates managed to capitalize on a series of missed shots by the Lady Bears, taking a six-point lead in the closing minute of play.

Hampton garnered 50 rebounds in the game, seven better than the Lady Bears. Chinyere Ukoh and Rachel Butler combined for 24 rebounds, Ukoh with 14 and Butler with 10. The pair also paced the Lady Pirates in scoring, Ukoh netting 16 points and Butler 14. Burns added 12 points in the victory.

Morgan State was led by Corin Adams, with 16 points, and Sellers, who netted 15 points. Brittany Dodson added 13 for Morgan State, which saw its record on the season fall to 11-7 overall and 5-2 in the MEAC. Adams led the Lady Bears in rebounding with seven boards on the night.

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