HAMPTON — Against the program she once called home, Kiki McElrath wasted no time reminding Delaware State what it lost.
The junior guard scored 13 first-half points and helped steady Hampton during its choppy start, sparking the Pirates to a 76–59 win over Delaware State on Monday night. It marked her first game against her former school — and another sign of how central she’s become to Hampton’s early-season turnaround.
Hampton needed her punch early, because Delaware State (3–5) came out swinging. The Hornets opened the game on a 10–0 run as the Pirates missed their first five shots and coughed up three turnovers. Hampton responded with a 13–2 burst fueled by bench scorer Kayla Lezama and back-to-back 3-pointers from McElrath and Olivia Smith, but DSU still held a 19–16 lead after the first quarter.
Hampton (3-2) seized control in the second quarter, outscoring DSU 17–5 in the second quarter, holding the Hornets to 2-of-11 shooting while forcing six turnovers to grab a 33–24 halftime lead.
Delaware State made two more pushes — a 9–0 run to open the third and an 8–0 run to open the fourth — but each time Hampton answered. Smith and Aaryn Battle hit 3s to settle the third-quarter surge, and the Pirates followed by making seven straight shots to lead 54-43 at the end of the third after starting the period 0 for 10. In the fourth, Hampton closed the door with a 20–4 run.
Lezama led all scorers with 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Smith added 19 of her own. Battle finished with 12 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Kiki’s night, and why it mattered
For McElrath, the matchup with Delaware State was wrapped in history — but she insisted afterward it was “just another game.” Still, her imprint was unmistakable. Ten of her 11 shots came in the first half, helping Hampton settle its offense whenever DSU’s pressure sped the game up.
Her journey to Hampton is part of the Pirates’ bigger story this season. McElrath transferred in the spring after feeling “the love” on her visit and has quickly become the team’s leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds before Monday.
Head coach Tamisha Augustin said their connection began long before McElrath entered the portal — they share Delta Sigma Theta membership, and Augustin has long known McElrath’s former high school coach, William McKinley.
“Kiki works really hard,” Augustin said. “The biggest thing is the IQ part — knowing when and how. She’s naturally gifted at going to get a bucket, and she’s continuing to grow.”
McElrath said that growth has come in learning reads, seeing the floor and understanding how her aggression opens up the offense for others.
A needed win before Thanksgiving — and before Puerto Rico
Monday’s game also served as the Pirates’ send-off before their Thanksgiving week trip to Puerto Rico, where they’ll face Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at noon and Buffalo on Friday at 9 a.m. The players said they’re most excited to return home with “two wins,” a point Augustin echoed in describing the upcoming stretch as a “business trip.”
Augustin was pleased with the result but blunt about the start.
“Anytime you can get a win, it’s always a good thing,” she said. “But I expressed my disappointment with the start of the game and our lack of execution. We finally responded in the third quarter, which was nice to see.”
As Hampton continues learning how to close games and build momentum, Monday’s performance — messy in stretches but sturdy when it mattered — was another step forward.
And for McElrath, it was a night that symbolized exactly why she made the move: a bigger role, a fresh start and a program counting on her at the heart of it.
