SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Hampton University women's basketball team stifled Savannah State in Tiger Arena on Monday, picking up a dominant 70-40 win to remain unbeaten in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play.

The Lady Pirates (6-3, 2-0 MEAC) have won both meetings all-time against Savannah State.

Senior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) led the way with 22 points, hitting all 14 of her free throws and going 4-for-8 from the floor. She also had a team-high nine rebounds, finishing just shy of her nation-leading seventh double-double of the season.

Senior guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill.) came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while sophomore guard Kenia Cole (Burtonsville, Md.) added 13 points, four assists, and a career-high five steals.

Senior guard JoNiquia Guilford (Chesapeake, Va.) added eight rebounds.

After Ezinne Kalu hit a free throw at the 11:34 mark of the first half to cut the Lady Pirates' lead to 15-11, Hampton responded with a 10-0 run – going up 25-11 with 9:31 left in the half after a layup from Avant

Continuing the Lady Pirates' continued commitment to defense, Savannah State went nearly eight minutes in the middle of the first half without a field goal, until the Lady Tigers' drought ended at the 6:41 mark after a Jazmin Thomas fastbreak layup cut Hampton's lead to 25-14.

Cole answered with a jumper 26 seconds later to put the Lady Pirates up 27-14.

Savannah State cut the lead to 10, 27-17, with 5:22 left in the half, but the Lady Pirates closed the opening half on a 5-1 spurt to head into the locker room up 32-18.

The Lady Tigers converted just five field goals in the first half.

Savannah State cut Hampton's lead to 35-22 at the 17:44 mark of the second half after a layup from Andrietta Thomas, but the Lady Pirates answered with an 8-0 run to take a 43-22 lead with 12:24 to play after Allen scored on a fastbreak layup.

A Kalu layup with 10:33 to play cut Hampton's lead to 45-26 and marked the last time the Lady Tigers came within 20 points of the Lady Pirates.

Hampton led by as many as 33 points, going up 61-28 with 5:36 to play after an Avant layup.

The Lady Pirates shot 40.7 percent (22-for-54) from the floor and went a season-best 83.3 percent (25-for-30) from the free throw line. Hampton also held a 48-35 advantage on the glass, while also scoring 31 points off of 25 Savannah State turnovers.

Hampton also outscored the Lady Tigers (3-5, 1-1 MEAC) 27-6 off the bench.

The Lady Tigers shot just 23.7 percent (14-for-59) from the floor – a season-low for a Lady Pirates opponent – and became the first Hampton opponent this season to not hit a 3-pointer. Savannah State also went just 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from the free throw line.

Kalu led Savannah State with 17 points.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, traveling to Catonsville, Md. for a non-conference match-up against Maryland Baltimore County 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.