HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 9, 2026) … The Hampton University women's basketball team will be inside the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tip against the Charleston Cougars on Underclassman Day and Jersey Day.
 
ABOUT HAMPTON (7-7/1-1)
The Pirates return to the home court for a Sunday matchup against league leading Charleston.
Hampton cut a 22-point deficit to four last Sunday at Elon but couldn't get closer in an 84-75 loss to the Phoenix. Kayla Lezama scored a career-high 23 points, while Kiki McElrath added 18 going a career-high 9-for-10 from the line and Aaryn Battle had 11 points and a career-high matching eight assists. Janaye Walker had her best game of her freshman campaign with eight points and seven rebounds.
Lezama leads the team in scoring averaging 12.7 points per game, while McElrath is next at 12.5 points per game and Battle follows at 10.2 points per contest. Battle is second in rebounds at 4.6 per game, while leading in assists (55) and steals (27). Le'Asia Foreman leads in rebounding at 7.5 per game while adding 5.8 points per contest.
As a team, the Pirates are averaging 64.6 points per game and allowing 60.6. On the boards, they trail 39.6-to-37.6 per game. From the field they are hitting 37.6 percent (335-892) and allowing opponents to hit 38.7 percent (321-829). From 3-point range, Hampton is 86-of-311 for 27.7 percent while the opposition is 67-of-250 for 26.8 percent. Hampton has averaged 14.7 turnovers per game and force 18.9 per contest.
In the CAA rankings as of Jan. 9, the Pirates are:
3PT% Defense - 1st - .268
Steals/Game - 2nd - 9.7
TO Margin - 2nd - +4.21
3FGA/Game - 3rd - 22.2
TO/Game - 3rd - 14.7
Assist/TO Ratio - 4th - +0.92
Bench Points/Game - 4th - 22.6
Blocks/Game - 4th - 4.3
Opp. TO/Game - 4th - 18.93
FG% Defense - 5th - .387
Off. Reb./G - 5th - 13.8
Scoring Margin – 5th - +4.0
 
ABOUT CHARLESTON (10-3/2-0)
CofC, the preseason Coastal Athletic Association favorites, began CAA play 2-0 with home victories over Hofstra and Northeastern last weekend. The Cougars are 10-3 overall and finished non-conference play 8-3 with quality wins at Quinnipiac and at Florida State. They play at William & Mary on Friday night before coming to Hampton.

The Cougars' win over the Seminoles gave them a win over a Power 4 school for the second consecutive year. It was also Charleston's first victory over an ACC school since CofC defeated Clemson in 2009.

The Cougars are currently ranked 13th in the most recent College Insider Mid-Major top-25 rankings.

CofC returns two starters from last years WNIT Super 16 squad, including the reigning CAA Player of the Year in Taryn Barbot who averages 20.5 points per game heading into the weekend. Her sister Taylor is averaging 12.6 points and 7.1 assists per game.

PIRATES IN JANUARY
In the 51-year history of Hampton University women's basketball, the Pirates are 285-154 in the month of January. On January 11, the Pirates are 10-4 all-time.

ALL-TIME VS. CHARLESTON
The Cougars lead the all-time series 3-2 as Hampton won the first two meetings and have lost the three since joining the CAA.

NEXT UP
Hampton will be on the road next weekend visiting William & Mary on January 16 and N.C. A&T on January 18.