NORFOLK, Va. (March 8, 2018)-Hampton, the No. 3 seed, withstood a late charge from Morgan State, the No. 6 seed, in women's quarterfinal action of the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament on Thursday at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
The Lady Pirates advance to Friday's semifinal, where they will face No. 2 seed Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m.
 
Mikayla Sayle led Hampton with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Monnazjea Finney-Smith added 13 points and seven boards and Ashley Bates had 14 points.
 
Allina Starr also had seven rebounds.
 
Hampton opened the game on a 17-5 run, culminating in a K'lynn Willis 3-point play, and the Lady Pirates led 24-11 after the first quarter. But the Lady Bears outscored Hampton 18-12 in the second quarter, cutting the margin to just seven – 36-29 – at the half.
 
Bates hit two free throws with 5:14 left in the third quarter to give the Lady Pirates a 44-34 lead. But Morgan State went on a 17-9 spurt that spanned into the fourth, and a Breannan Farrar free throw at the 4:05 mark cut the lead to 53-51.
 
Bates answered with a layup to spark a 7-0 run, and the Lady Pirates never relinquished control from there.
 
Hampton shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from the floor, compared to 39.3 percent (22-for-56) for Morgan State. The Lady Bears committed 19 turnovers, which Hampton converted into 24 points.
 
Farrar led Morgan State with 14 points and finished her career at Morgan State second all-time in scoring with 1,584 points.