DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Hampton University women's basketball team clinched the top seed in the 2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament on Monday, defeating Bethune-Cookman 54-30 at the Moore Gymnasium.

The Lady Pirates (22-4, 14-1 MEAC) picked up their seventh straight win overall, as well as their seventh straight road win. With a win on Thursday at North Carolina Central, Hampton will clinch its second straight MEAC regular-season title.

Senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) led the Lady Pirates with 17 points, while junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.), the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, added 12 points and a team-high 16 rebounds for her third straight double-double.

Ten of Avant's 16 rebounds came in the first half, and she grabbed seven boards on the offensive end, helping Hampton gain a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points.

Sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting. By scoring nine points, senior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas) is just nine points shy of 1,000 for her career.

McMillian would be the 23rd Lady Pirate ever to reach that milestone.

After the Lady Wildcats cut Hampton's lead to 8-6 at the 16:01 mark on a Jalisa Isaac layup, the Lady Pirates went on a 17-0 run, taking a 25-6 lead after a pair of Jenkins free throws. In all, the Lady Pirates out-scored Bethune-Cookman 19-6 to close out the half, and the Lady Wildcats went nearly 12 minutes without a point.

The Lady Pirates led 27-12 at the half.

Hampton opened the second half on a 27-5 run, going up 54-17 with 7:02 to play after a 3-pointer from Jenkins. Though the Lady Pirates did not score for the rest of the game, they held the Lady Wildcats to just six second-half field goals.

Six of Bethune-Cookman's 18 second-half points came at the free throw line.

Hampton shot 29.7 percent (19-for-64) from the floor, hitting four of its 24 3-pointers and going 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line. The Lady Pirates also held a 45-39 edge on the glass and forced Bethune-Cookman into 25 turnovers – which Hampton converted into 22 points.

Bethune-Cookman (10-17, 7-8 MEAC) shot just 22.9 percent (11-for-48) from the floor, missing all seven of its 3-pointers – the second time this season Hampton has held an opponent without a field goal from behind the arc.

Demetria Frank led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Pirates will close out the regular season on Thursday, when they head to Durham, N.C. to take on North Carolina Central at 5:30 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.