Can you blame us if we want to throw a ticker-tape parade, set off some fireworks or at the very least shout really, really loud, “HAMPTON BEAT NORTH CAROLINA!”
What better way to open the season than to have the Pirates upend a Tar Heel team receiving votes in both national polls? It was 70-66 on basketball’s opening night, and if this is a preview of what’s to come, watch out MEAC and everybody else.
Hampton, that’s 1-0 Hampton, used an 18-7 run in the last 6:29 to score its first win over North Carolina, but by no means was this the first time a David Six team has upset the “Power 5.” Two years ago, Hampton defeated Wake Forest; the Lady Pirates have also beaten LSU, Florida, Pitt, Auburn and Boston College with Six coaching.
Senior Monnazjea Finney-Smith scored a sizzling 25, burying 7 of 12 from beyond the arc and added five steals.
How hot was Jeezy? “The smoke is still coming off her head,” Six quipped.
Finney-Smith was all about crediting her teammates, noting, “We followed the game plan and stayed together as a team.”
Jephany Brown scored 17 with eight rebounds and newbie Allina Starr had 11 with eight assists. Dejane’ James finished with 10 and five assists.
Hampton hit 50 percent from the floor (28-56), 45.8 percent from 3-point range (11-24).
Six was quick to tout his defense, which held senior guard Jamie Cherry to 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting and seven turnovers. Cherry had made a career 158 treys coming into the game; she was 1-of-6 on Friday. North Carolina (0-1) turned it over 22 times.
Hampton weathered foul trouble and an eight-point deficit in the third quarter, going on to outscore North Carolina 21-17 in the fourth.
Afterward, as hyped as we were, Six passed on this reminder.
“I’m proud of our kids; we’ve gotten off to a great start versus a quality opponent,” he said. “But I told them before the game that one game wasn’t going to define the season. It’s what we do moving forward.”
Sounds like the talk of a coach who’s done big things before, and has a vision of even bigger things to come. Another Carolina team is next. Hampton goes to CAA champ Elon on Nov. 17. Charlotte Smith’s team is pretty good, but you know what? So are these Pirates.