Junior forward Jephany Brown led the Hampton Lady Pirates in scoring with 10 points but it was their tenacious defense that captured the victory over Bethune-Cookman College (BCC) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship on March 11 in Norfolk, Va.
Hampton head coach David Snow celebrates his sixth MEAC championship. (Courtesy Photo/Hampton Pirates)
It marked the sixth MEAC title Hampton has won in the last eight years and ninth MEAC crown in school history. It’s also Lady Pirates head coach David Snow’s sixth MEAC championship; he led Hampton to five straight conference titles from 2010-’14 before winning his sixth on Saturday.
Hampton dominated the game defensively from the very start; the Lady Pirates held a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bethune-Cookman found a little success in the second quarter, using a 15-4 scoring run to cut Hampton’s lead to just eight points at one point. But the Lady Pirates buckled back down on defense to go into halftime with a 13-point lead.
Still, BCC wouldn’t go away as it used its own tough defense to hold Hampton scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter, cutting the lead to 35-34. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle as BCC tied the score a couple times, only for Hampton to make clutch shots to reclaim the lead.
Jephany Brown scored only 10 points but four of those points came when the score was tied, 44-44 late in the game. Brown then scored two straight shots to put her team back ahead to pull away with the victory. Brown, who also grabbed seven rebounds with five steals, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
Hampton (20-12) will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on March 16.
