Box Score 

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Chinyere Ukoh scored 11 points and Sharella Leslie added 10 to lead No. 6 Hampton to a 68-49 win over No. 11 Norfolk State in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's tournament at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Lady Pirates (14-15) will take on the Lady Hornets of Delaware State, the No. 3 seed, on Thursday at 12 noon.

Norfolk State got off to a good start early, taking a 10-2 lead three minutes into the game. But Hampton, which defeated the Spartans (1-27) by large margins in both the regular season games, put together a 23-11 run to take a 25-21 lead that it never relinquished. Ukoh and Leslie asserted themselves in the post area with an inside presence and some power rebounding.

Norfolk State helped the Hampton cause by missing several close-in shots. For the game, the Spartans shot a woeful 23 percent (14-of-61). The Lady Pirates used their bench liberally in the second half to wear down their opponents. Thirteen of the 14 players who played scored as Hampton held a commanding 38-12 advantage from its reserves compared to NSU's bench players.

NSU got a game-high 13 points from Raychele Payne (Newport News, Va.) and 10 from Tashawna Higgins (Toronto, Ontario).

“We are in the process of bringing this program back to a level of excellence,” said Norfolk State Coach Tara A. Owens, in her second year.  “It is going to take time but we are confident we are going to get it done.”

She continued, “Hampton is a good team and we knew that we would have to play an outstanding game to compete with them.”