HAMPTON, Va. (Dec. 17, 2024) … Trailing 37-30 at intermission and by as many as 11 in the second half, Hampton University (3-5) turned up the defensive heat and turned the tide in the second half to post a 76-67 victory over Gardner-Webb (3-8) at the Hampton Convocation Center on Tuesday night.
 
The Lady Pirates pressure defense forced 11 Gardner-Webb turnovers in the third quarter --- and 21 for the game --- as Hampton outscored the Bulldogs 25-12 to take a 55-49 lead after three quarters. In all, Hampton scored 24 points off turnovers.
 
In addition, Hampton was deadly from three-point range. In all, the Lady Pirates canned nine treys in the first three quarters, the most for the team since 2021. Aisha Dabo had three treys while teammates Jasha Clinton and Tyra Kennedy finished with two each.
 
Clinton tallied a season-best 21 points in the game while Dabo registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Amyah Reaves dished out 10 assists, the most for a Hampton player since 2020.
 
Both teams were tentative in the game's opening minutes. Reaves put Hampton ahead 2-0 with a lay-up two minutes into the game. The two teams combined to shoot 4-18 (.222) from the field in the game's first five minutes. A Kennedy trey tied the game 10-10 and a pair of three-pointers by Clinton put the Lady Pirates ahead 16-14 after the first period.
 
Clinton connected on another trey one minute into the second period to give Hampton an 18-16 lead. The lead grew to 20-16 before Gardner-Webb reeled off seven straight points to take a 23-20 lead with 5:46 left before halftime. After a Hampton bucket, Gardner-Webb scored seven more points to make it 30-22 with 4:03 to go. The lead grew to as many as 11, 35-24 on a three-pointer by Gardner-Webb's Kendall Scott. A Kennedy trey closed out the second quarter scoring with the Bulldogs leading 37-30 at intermission.
 
Hampton canned 6-of-8 three-point attempts in the first half but were outrebounded 23-14. After shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the opening quarter, Gardner-Webb shot a torrid 66.7 percent in the second quarter. Ashley Hawkins led the way with 11 points and Elze Motekaiyte grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs. Clinton had eight points in the first two quarters and Reaves dished out four assists to lead the Lady Pirates.
 
A Reaves steal and layup to open the third quarter cut the Bulldog lead to 37-32. Hampton's pressure defense forced a trio of turnovers and the Lady Pirates closed to 43-41 following a trey by Dabo with 5:11 to go. Dublin's lay-up tied the score and Dublin's layup put the Lady Pirates ahead 45-43 and a trey by Dabo made it 48-43.
 
After seeing Hampton battle back to take the lead, Gardner-Webb refused to fold. A Hawkins basket with 6:51 left in the game put the Bulldogs back up 58-57. But Clinton had an answer and her layup put the Lady Pirates back on top. After the Bulldogs retook the lead, Clinton again came to the rescue to give the Lady Pirates the lead. A 7-0 run toward the end of the contest gave the Lady Pirates some breathing room as Hampton made free throws when it needed to down the stretch to keep the Bulldogs at bay.   
 
In addition to Clinton's heroics and solid games by Dabo, Dublin, and Reaves, Diamond Wiggins came off the bench to spark the team with a career-best 10 points. For Gardner-Webb, Hawkins finished with 17 points and Kendall Scott, who was celebrating her birthday, finished with 14.
 
The Lady Pirates play host Florida International in the FIU Christmas Classic on Dec. 20 at 12:00 p.m. Hampton's next home game is on Jan. 5 against Coastal Athletic Association foe North Carolina A&T.