CHARLOTTE, NC- Hampton University women opened the first round of Big South tournament play, defeating #10 Radford University 55-49.
Junior forward Nylah Young powered the Pirates with a 20-point performance to lead all scorers in the game. Victoria Mason followed up, recording a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“We played great defense,” said head coach David Six. “We played them three times in a week, so we tried to change up the defense.”
Ashley Tudor led Radford’s scoring efforts with 17 points, while Rachel LaLonde recorded 15 rebounds.
Hampton shot 28.1 percent (16 of 57) from the field, 0 percent from behind the arc, and 79.3 percent (23 of 29) at the line.
Radford shot 36.5 percent from the field (19 of 52), 18.2 percent (4 of 22) from behind the arc, and went 50 percent (7 of 14) at the line.
Free throw shooting helped Hampton to a 16-15 edge over the Highlanders to end the first quarter of action. The Pirates shot 100% at the line going 6 of 6.
The Pirates struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the second quarter. During that dry spell, Radford went on a 14-2 run taking a 29-18 lead over the Pirates, before Coach Six charged a timeout with 1:13 remaining in the opening half.
At the half, Radford led Hampton 31-22, but it was the 15 points from Ashley Tudor that the Pirates would have to find a defensive answer for in the second half.
Midway through the third stanza, sophomore guard Victoria Mason (Chandler, AZ) came away with a steal on defense which led to an uncontested layup making it a six-point game in Radford’s favor (35-29).
“It was motivation not to go home,” said Young. “We didn’t want to go home, and in the second half, we were determined to come out strong.
Hampton went on an 11-0 run, tying the game at 35-all with a jumper from Jermany Mapp at the 2:55 mark of the 3rd quarter. Then a layup from Nylah Young gave HU their first lead of the game since the first quarter up 37-35.
Radford hit a three-pointer to cut the Pirate’s lead to a single point (39-38) to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a shootout as both teams were gunning for a shot to advance to the quarterfinal round. However, Hampton’s defense created opportunities on the offensive end down the stretch.
The highlanders charged a final timeout with 25.7 seconds left in the game, HU led Radford 53-47, but a quick basket out of the timeout made it a 4-point game.
The Pirates reigned victorious, despite Radford’s desperation in the final seconds that sent HU to the file line twice and led to three Highlander timeouts.
Hampton advances to the Big South Tournament quarterfinal round, where the Pirates will face #2 Longwood University on Thursday at 6 PM. The Big South Tournament is being held at Bojangles Colisieum.
Hampton women advance in Big South Tournament
March 02, 2022
