ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Hampton University women's basketball team got back into the win column on Saturday, beating South Carolina State 59-46 in its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Arena.

Sophomore guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.) led the Lady Pirates with a career-high 20 points, while also dishing out a career-high five assists. Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) added 12 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.

Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) and junior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) each added 10 points.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead, before the Lady Pirates (5-3, 1-0 MEAC) answered with a 10-5 run to go up 10-5 at the 8:50 mark after a jumper from Cole. SCSU fought back to take a 14-12 lead at the 5:07 mark after a layup from Paris Alston.

The two teams exchanged the lead several times, before the Lady Pirates used an 8-0 run to take a 25-18 lead with 42 seconds left in the first half following a free throw from junior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.).

The Lady Pirates led 25-20 at the break.

A 3-pointer from Allen with 17:52 left in the second half put the Lady Pirates up 32-22, before Tiara Knotts cut the lead to 33-30 at the 14:50 mark with a layup to cap an 8-1 Lady Bulldogs run. That run ballooned to 11-1 when Kourtney Williams tied the game at 33-33 with 14:17 to play with a 3-pointer.

Avant scored on a tip-in at the 13:47 mark to put Hampton up 35-33, and the Lady Pirates never looked back. Cole hit a layup with 10:05 to play to give the Lady Pirates a 49-38 lead.

Trinese Fox cut the lead to six, 50-44, with 4:58 to play on a layup, but the Lady Pirates answered with five straight points, going up 55-44 at the 2:27 mark after a Hamilton 3-pointer.

Cole hit a pair of free throws with 1:04 to play to push the game to its final margin.

Hampton shot 31.6 percent (18-for-57) from the floor and hit five of its 19 3-pointers. The Lady Pirates also held a 43-33 edge on the boards and scored 19 points off of 20 SCSU turnovers.

SCSU (4-2, 0-1 MEAC) shot 38.0 percent (19-for-50) from the floor.

Alston had a team-high 10 points, all in the first half.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they head to Savannah, Ga. to take on Savannah State in Tiger Arena at 7 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.