Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – It took an extra five minutes, but the Hampton University women's basketball team defeated Norfolk State 63-59 on Saturday evening at Echols Hall. Junior Laura Lewis scored six of her eight points in overtime.

After Whitney Long opened overtime with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Spartans a 56-53 lead, Lewis (Dallas, Texas) hit a mid-range jumper and Quanneisha Perry (Decatur, Ga.) followed with a layup to put Hampton up 57-56. Lewis would sink another jumper and hit a free throw in the closing seconds to pull the Lady Pirates (6-9, 2-2 MEAC) out of reach.

Marian Brooks sank a layup with 3.6 seconds to play to tie the game at 53, and Bernadette Fortune (Virginia Beach, Va.) missed a long jumper at the buzzer that would've given the Lady Pirates the win in regulation.

Perry led the Lady Pirates with a season-high 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Freshman Breanna Jones (Springfield, Va.) added 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting and nine rebounds. Hampton shot 30.0 percent (24-for-80) from the floor, only committing 10 turnovers and out-rebounding Norfolk State 49-46.

Tyisha Bridges led Norfolk State with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting, while Long added 14. Brooks pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. The Lady Spartans shot 40.4 percent (23-for-57) from the floor and committed 25 turnovers.

After Norfolk State (2-10, 0-4 MEAC) struck first on a Long layup, the Lady Pirates answered with a 16-5 run, taking a 20-7 lead when Laura Lewis scored on a transition layup with 6:59 left in the half. But Hampton would go the next 5:32 without a field goal, and Norfolk State closed out the half on a 14-4 run to close within 24-21 at the intermission.

Danelle Tate, who scored a team-high nine points in the first half, had seven points in that run. Bridges added six points for the Lady Spartans, while Brooks pulled down a team-high five first-half rebounds. Norfolk State shot 37.5 percent (9-for-24) from the floor in the first half, pulling down 20 rebounds and turning the ball over 11 times.

Hampton scored 10 points off those turnovers.

The Lady Pirates shot 28.6 percent (10-for-35) in the first half, going 1-for-10 from 3-point range. Perry led Hampton with seven points in the first half to go along with five rebounds. Jones led the team with six rebounds in the first half, adding six points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they travel to Greensboro, N.C. to face off against North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.