NORFOLK — The nation’s longest home winning streak in women’s basketball is no more.
Hampton edged Norfolk State 57-55 in a grind-it-out Battle of the Bay on Friday evening, closing out a game defined by wild swings and long scoring droughts inside Echols Hall — and snapping NSU’s 28-game home winning streak.
Hampton head coach Tamisha Augustin said the team believed all week it could win on the road and that ending NSU’s streak was a point of emphasis coming into the rivalry match.
“We felt like we were going to win this game,” Augustin said. “It was how we responded. … I’m excited for what’s to come for them.”
NSU head coach Jermaine Woods didn’t hide how much the moment stung.
“Obviously, tough one right there. … You got the nation’s longest home winning streak. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of history,” Woods said. “We just got to play better.”
Both teams traded runs throughout, but Hampton (2-2) had the most impactful one, erasing a late deficit with an 11-0 run fueled by Kayla Lezama, who scored seven points in the fourth. Then, an 8-2 run gave the Pirates a 57-49 lead with less than a minute remaining.
Norfolk State (2-5) had one final chance to tie or take the lead after a late 6-0 run in less than 30 seconds, but the Spartans missed a go-ahead 3-pointer and couldn’t convert on a last-second entry pass with 0.6 of a second remaining.
“We should have tied the game on the first play,” Woods said. “I’m not sure why she didn’t make the pass, but hey, we still had a shot to get it, but we didn’t. It was actually ran perfect. The moment sometimes gets to you, but we should have been going to overtime, but we’re not. And we’re here, talking about losing.”
Woods said he didn’t give the team a postgame message immediately, noting he stepped away to “self-reflect” before regrouping Sunday. He emphasized effort and execution as the difference late.
Norfolk State opened fast, using an 11-3 burst with paint touches from Anjanae Richardson, Carmen Kweti, LeAire Nicks and Cire Worley. Hampton started 1 of 9 from the floor, but NSU’s own cold shooting kept the game tight.
The Pirates flipped the momentum with a 10-0 run to close the first quarter, taking a 13-11 lead behind two Lezama 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. NSU countered immediately, ripping off an 11-0 run to start the second — sparked by 3s from Niyah Gaston and Worley, as well as a three-point play from Worley.
Norfolk State’s Jasha Clinton, defended by Hampton’s Kiki McElrath, puts up two during Friday, November 21, 2025, night’s annual Battle of the Bay basketball game at NSU. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)
The Pirates answered again with an 11-3 stretch to end the half, trailing 25-24.
NSU created the first double-digit lead late in the third, using a 7-0 push to go up 43-31. But Hampton countered immediately, stringing together an 11-0 run behind a Lezama 3, Le’Asia Foreman’s three-point play and a Taylor Gibson layup.
From there, the game became a defensive slog. Hampton made just enough plays in the final minutes to close it out.
Lezama led all scorers with 19 points. Afterward, she credited her teammates: “I think a lot of it has to do with my teammates. … We’re learning each other, and that’s where the chemistry comes from.”
Foreman added nine points and six rebounds, while Kiki McElrath and Gibson both had eight points.
In her first meeting against her former team, Norfolk State’s Jasha Clinton finished with a team-high 12 points, five rebounds and six assists. Five Spartans scored eight, including Kweti, who added 14 rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the field — Hampton shot 33.3% and NSU shot 32.8% — but the Spartans committed 17 turnovers, compared to the Pirates’ eight.
“They got back in the game not by really outshooting us. … They were tougher than us,” Woods said.
Norfolk State heads to Appalachian State at noon Tuesday. Hampton returns home to host Delaware State at 7 p.m. Monday.
