NORFOLK, Va. – Visiting Hampton rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to edge the Norfolk State women's basketball team, 58-57 in the Battle of the Bay on Saturday evening at Echols Hall.

Trailing 43-30, Hampton (11-7, 5-0) began to slowly make its way back in the final stanza and grabbed a one-point lead when Ashley Bates made one of two at the free-throw line to give the Lady Pirates a 55-54 advantage with 2:32 left. Hampton extended its lead to four (58-54) with just over 90 seconds left when Bates made two more free throws.

Norfolk State (9-8, 4-1) senior guard Jordan Strode made two free throws with 1:20 remaining, but Kayla Roberts committed a lane violation to nullify the second attempts and keep the score 58-55. On the ensuing possession, Roberts stole a pass and drove to the hoop for an uncontested layup to cut the
margin to one.

At the other end, Roberts blocked a 3-pointer by Monnazjea Finney-Smith with 15 seconds left to give the Spartans one last chance. Strode failed to convert on a layup, but forward Khalilah Ali grabbed the offensive board and drew a foul with 2.7 seconds left. But Ali misfired on the two free throws, and
Hampton's Kaylah Lupoe grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Hampton.

Roberts registered 16 points and 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season while matching her career high with five blocks. Strode dropped in 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Alexys Long scored a career-high 10 points.

Norfolk State grabbed the lead with 4:06 left in the opening quarter when Strode knocked down a jumper which gave the Spartans a 7-6 lead. That started a 15-4 run to close the first quarter for the Spartans.

Leading 27-20 at halftime, NSU came out hot to start the third quarter. Kiara Phillips and strode hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Spartans' lead to 15 (37-22) with 7:22 left in the third period.

Hampton began its rally early in the fourth quarter. The Lady Pirates went on a 9-0 run to slice NSU's lead to four. Long's triple at the 6:05 mark extended NSU's lead back to 50-43, but Hampton would not go away. Finney-Smith hit a trey and Bates followed with another to tie the score at 52-all with 3:35 left.

Bates finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, including 10 points and seven boards in the final period.  Lupoe and Finney-Smith scored 12 points apiece.

Norfolk State shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from behind the 3-point line. The Spartans held the Lady Pirates to 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the floor, including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from behind the arc.

Despite outshooting Hampton from the floor and from deep, the Lady Pirates went 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the charity stripe while the Spartans struggled. They were just 8-of-15 (53.3 percent).

Norfolk State outrebounded Hampton 42-41. The Spartans recorded nine blocks, while the Lady Pirates registered seven. Both teams tallied 14 assists and six steals.
 
The Spartans will have a quick turnaround as they will make their third trip to Baltimore this season. They are 1-1 in the Charm City and look to make it a sweep over MEAC opponents when they take on Coppin State on Monday. Tip off is at 5:30 p.m.