BIRMINGHAM, Al. -- A wild fourth quarter rally comes up short as Hampton drops a 66-61 decision at Samford on Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.

Allina Starr matched her season high with 23 points, while Ashley Bates added 12.  K'lynn Willis had nine points, three assists and three steals, while Monnazjea Finney-Smith had eight points and a team high nine rebounds for Hampton (2-9).

in the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer from Hannah Nichols put the hosts up 50-38 with 8:49 left.  The Lady Pirates pressed their way back into the contest cutting the deficit to 56-53 with 2:44 left on a pair of free throws from K'lynn Willis.  Dejane' James hit a triple with four seconds left to trim the margin again to 64-61, but a pair of free throws late iced the game.

Hampton started the game missing its first six shots as they trailed 9-0 on a Nicholas layup with 4:14 left in the opening period.  Jephany Brown put Hampton on the board with a layup at the 3:36 mark as Hampton scored the next six points.  Dejane' James hit a jumper to get the Lady Pirates to 9-6 with 1:27 left in the first.

Samford responded with a 14-3 run spanning into the second as a Cassidy Williams 3-pointer put the Bulldogs up 23-9 with 6:37 left in the half.  A five-point flurry from  Finney-Smith on a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer got Hampton to 23-18 with 4:11 left.

On the game, Hampton was 21-of-59 (35.6%), while Samford was 21-of-40 (52.5%).  The Bulldogs outrebounded Hampton 38-28.  Nichols and Olivia Crozier were the leading scorers for Samford with 13 points each, while Nichols was the leading rebounder with 13.

Hampton returns home to face Columbia on January 3 at 6 pm in its first home game in a month at the HU Convocation Center.

For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.