BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (Nov. 16, 2025) … Kiki McElrath had 12 points, including six in the final quarter, but Hampton couldn't overcome a cold performance from the field in falling 55-35 to Gardner-Webb on Sunday afternoon.
The opening minutes were on the cold side for both teams. Hampton went up 4-3 as
Taylor Gibson had a bucket and went 1-for-2 at the line with 8:14 left. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored the next six points as Nyla Walker hit a pair of free throws to cap the run for a 9-4 advantage at the 5:08 mark.
Kayla Lezama broke the drought for Hampton with a jumper at the 2:39 mark and
Le'Asia Foreman followed with a putback to trail 9-8 with 1:53 remaining in the first. Lezama brought the Pirates to 13-10 with a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
Jaelyn Acker hit pair of 3s to start second quarter, the last one to put the hosts up 19-10 with 6:06 left in the half. A McElrath 3-ball gave the Pirates their first and only field goal of the second quarter trailing 19-13 with 3:37 on the clock.
Walker drained another triple for Gardner-Webb to push the advantage to 22-13 just 27 seconds later. Lezama went 1-for-2 from the line with 81 seconds remaining provided the final point of the quarter as Hampton trailed 25-14 at half.
In the third, Hampton was a little warmer from the field.
Aisha Dabo had a layup to pull Hampton to 26-16 with 7:43 remaining, but that was as close as Hampton could get. McElrath drained a triple at the 3:30 mark to cut the deficit to 33-20.
McElrath had six of Hampton's 15 fourth-quarter points on three jumpers.
Diamond Wiggins drained a triple with just under 45 seconds remaining for the final points.
Amina Gray hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for 13 of the 20 points for the host as she ended with 18 points.
McElrath had 12 points and six rebounds for the lone double figure scorer. Gibson added seven and five boards. As a team, Hampton was 11-of-52 from floor (21.2%) and outrebounded Gardner-Webb 38-34.
Hampton is now back in the 757 for their next matchup with a Battle of the Bay contest against Norfolk State on Friday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m.
