Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University women's basketball team used a strong second half to run away from Coppin State for a 70-46 win in the semifinals of the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament on Friday at the Joel Coliseum.

The Lady Pirates (24-6) picked up their 12th straight win and advanced to the championship game for the second straight year. They will face either No. 2 Morgan State or No. 6 Howard on Saturday at 5 p.m. with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Saturday's title game will be televised on ESPNU via tape delay on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Junior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) led four Lady Pirates in double figures with 22 points to go along with five assists. Junior forward Melanie Warner (Tallahassee, Fla.) and senior forward Quanneisha Perry (Decatur, Ga.) each added 12 points, and Warner pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.

Junior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas) added 10 points.

Coppin State opened the game with a 10-6 lead after Shawntae Payne hit a 3-pointer with 14:17 left in the first half, but Warner hit a trey of her own with 11:27 left to put the Lady Pirates up 13-10. The Lady Pirates would lead by as many as nine in the first half, going up 23-14 with 7:05 left when McMillian hit her only 3-pointer of the game.

The Lady Eagles out-scored Hampton 9-5 in the final 7:05 of the half, and the Lady Pirates held a 28-23 edge at the break.

Hampton opened the second half with an 8-2 run to go up 36-25 at the 14:43 mark after Perry hit a jumper. Kyra Coleman hit a layup on the next possession to pull Coppin State within nine, 36-27, but that was the closest the Lady Eagles would get.

Hampton went on a 34-15 run to take a 70-42 lead with 41 seconds to play, the Lady Pirates' largest lead of the game, when freshman Chikilra Goodman (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a layup.

The Lady Pirates out-scored Coppin State 42-23 in the second half.

The Lady Pirates shot 39.3 percent (24-for-61) from the floor and made 18 of their 25 free throws. Hampton also held a 48-30 rebounding edge over Coppin State, and the Lady Pirates forced the Lady Eagles into 17 turnovers – converting them into 12 points.

Hampton also held a 21-7 edge in second-chance points, after out-rebounding Coppin State 16-8 on the offensive end.

Coppin State (13-17) shot 32.0 percent (16-for-50) from the floor, but made just 10 of 20 free throws. Shawntae Payne led the Lady Eagles with nine points.

Hampton, which defeated South Carolina State 57-46 in last season's MEAC Tournament championship game, defeated Morgan State the only time the two teams met this season, taking a 68-37 win in Baltimore, Md. on Jan. 10.

The Lady Pirates also swept the regular season series with Howard, beating the Lady Bison 68-52 at the HU Convocation Center on Dec. 4, before closing out the regular season on March 3 with a 60-54 win in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the 2011 MEAC Tournament, visit www.MEAChoops.com. 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.