HAMPTON, Va. – A 16-0 run midway through the second quarter proved to be the starting point on Wednesday night as the Hampton University women's basketball team cruised to an 80-46 win over South Carolina State at the HU Convocation Center.
With the win, Hampton is now 12-7 overall and 6-0 in MEAC action. SCSU falls to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in MEAC play.
Hampton has now won seven games in a row.
DeJane' James scored a career-high 17 points and dished out a career-high six assists to lead three in double figures for Hampton. Monnazjea Finney-Smith added 13 points and five rebounds, while Ashley Bates added 11 and three steals.
After three ties in the first five minutes, a Georgianna Gilbeaux putback gave Hampton a 10-8 lead with 3:50 left in the first quarter. James hit a 3-pointer to close out an 8-2 flurry that put Hampton up 18-10 after one.
In the second quarter, the teams traded points before a Jephany Brown free throw started the 16-0 run over a 3:34 span. Brown hit a layup off a feed from James to push the lead to 25-14, and then those two flipped roles with James converting a layup off a steal from Brown to lead 27-14 with 6:20 left. Gilbeaux closed the run with a jumper at the 3:40 mark to give the Lady Pirates a 38-14 lead.
South Carolina State trimmed the deficit to 47-28 on a pair of Bryeasha Blair free throws with 5:24 left in the third. Hampton went on a 14-6 spurt to lead 61-34 on a Gilbeaux layup with 2:12 left in the third.
Hampton pushed the lead to as much as 37 points in the fourth, as it went on a 12-2 run in the first 7:18 of the final quarter as James hit her final triple of the night to lead 77-40.
Freshman Adria Strothers matched her season high with nine points, hitting three 3-pointers in nine minutes of action. Hampton hit 41.8 percent from the floor (28-of-67), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-28) and 72.7 percent from the line (16-of-22).
The Lady Pirates outrebounded SCSU 43-39 and forced the Lady Bulldogs into 21 turnovers, which were converted into 35 points.
Full Recap | Box Score