Hampton, ODU, VCU: Everybody's a winner

The state's teams went 3-0 on Wednesday night, beating teams from D.C., Maryland and North Carolina, and that's reason to smile.

Hampton 69, East Carolina 63:
Think the Lady Pirates (4-4) are happy to have a healthy Jericka Jenkins back? The point guard Hampton coach David Six calls the best in the state finished with 22 points, four assists and four rebounds in 40 minutes. Hampton led by seven at the half, but ECU had a pair of second-half leads before Jenkins secured Hampton's edge with a three-point play with 9:22 left. Twelve of Jenkins' points came from the line, where Hampton shot an impressive 81 percent (27-of-33), including 8 of 12 in the final three minutes. Quanneisha Perry added 17 with 9 boards and Melanie Warner had 16 points with 9 boards. We know Six didn't enjoy the 27 turnovers, but this is a good road victory for Hampton, which has now won three straight. We'll get a plug in for our prediction here, which was 66-63 Lady Pirates. Another nugget: This is Hampton's first win over ECU in six games.


Old Dominion 60, George Washington 35:
Nothing like a feel-good win for the Lady Monarchs (4-3) after getting pounded by Tennessee. On a night when Jasmine Parker couldn't find her shot (the senior scored six points on 1-of-7 shooting), Tia Lewis and Jo Guilford produced. Lewis scored a season-high 15 points and 11 boards, and Guilford, who had only collected 16 points all season, added a career-best 13. Under-the-radar player of the game honors go to redshirt freshman Becca Allison, with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting. GWU only managed 13 points in the first half and shot 26 percent for the game. Three Colonial starters combined for 0-of-7 from the field, scoring the fewest points by an ODU opponent since Dec. 28, 2007 (Delaware State). You get the feeling GWU couldn't wait to get out of Norfolk.

VCU 71, Coppin State 62:
For a while it looked as if we were going to be writing about an ugly loss given the Rams (3-3) trailed by 10 at the half. But a 49-point second period rallied the Rams, who got their regular 20 points from Courtney Hurt and another 19 from sophomore Sonia Johnson, who had only scored 23 points the entire season. We know Beth Cunningham can't be too pleased with a yucky 33 turnovers (including 9 by Hurt) and 11 missed free throws, but the Rams escaped Baltimore with a win and that's worth something.