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Hampton wins MEAC crown
Posted: Sunday March 12, 2000 01:04 AM
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- LaShondra Dixon hit the game-winner with 12 seconds remaining Saturday as Hampton captured the Mid-Eastern Athletic Association title with a 66-64 win over Norfolk State. The fifth-seeded Lady Pirates (16-14) won the tournament with three straight wins over higher seeded teams and gave Coach Patricia Bibbs her 300th career win in the title game. Dixon, who finished with a game-high 23 points, ended the seesaw affair by passing on an open 3-pointer, then driving to the basket and draining a jump shot under heavy pressure. With the championship, Hampton will make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since it became a Division I school in 1995. Norfolk State (19-11), who struggled all day with Hampton's full-court press, took almost 10 seconds to get past half-court and managed only a flailing 3-point attempt as time expired. Tournament MVP Jessica Faust added 15 for Hampton, who beat the Spartans twice in overtime during the regular season. Suawana Taylor had 19 points for the Spartans, and Taisha Thomas added 17. After heading to the locker room down 34-33, the Pirates lost their shooting touch during a key stretch of the second half. Trailing just 42-41 after Dixon converted a foul shot following a made lay-up with 14:38 remaining, they failed to score again for almost five minutes. But Hampton countered with eight straight points. Then Dixon almost single-handedly gave the Lady Pirates the lead, hitting a jump shot to cut the lead to 54-53, stealing the ball on the ensuing full-court press, then draining another jump shot from the same spot to give Hampton its first lead of the second half, 55-54. The press forced the Spartans into 17 turnovers. Norfolk State had an even harder time after guard Petra Vorlova left the game after hitting her head on the floor midway through the second half. The teams went back and forth in the final minutes, with neither team leading by more than two points over the final 3:52. A jumper by Faust tied the game at 64 with 1:01 remaining, and the Pirates got the ball back after Suawana Taylor missed a driving one-hander for Norfolk State with 35 seconds left.
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