Norfolk, VA—Victoria Gonzales scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Jasmine Hill contributed 10, but it was a case of too many turnovers and missed opportunities that doomed Howard in a 64-58 loss to Hampton in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at the Scope Arena. 

The Pirates (14-16) advance to Friday's semifinal round where they will take on North Carolina A&T, the Number 2 seed at 2 pm. 

Howard (7-24) fell behind 19-14 in the first quarter but rebounded with a 20-16 second quarter run that closed the gap to 35-34 at the half. 

The Bison got scoring from Te'Shya Heslip (7 points), Sydni Johnson (9 points) and Gonzales (5 points, 7 rebounds) to keep it close. 

The Lady Pirates got a surprise performance from Mikayla Sayle who recorded a double double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Malai Tate-DeFreitas, the MEAC Player of the Year and leading scorer in the conference at over 20 points per game, contributed 8. 

Hampton outscored Howard 23-11 in the third quarter on the scoring of yet another unexpected player in Areana Davis, who scored eight of her 10 points in the quarter. 

The Bison aided and abetted the Lady Pirates by committing numerous mistakes that Hampton complpete took advantage of. Hampton got 18 of its points off 26 Howard turnovers. 

Although the Bison trailed, 48-35 at the end of the third quarter, it was by no means an insurmountable lead. 

The Lady Pirates left the door open for a Howard comeback. 

With a little over six minutes left, Howard had four straight possession with a chance to get the lead to under double digits. Each time, the Bison failed to capitalize, but Hampton was equally complicit. 

Finally, Hampton was able to get a basket with a little over two minutes that increased the lead to 60-47 and it all but ended the season for Howard. 

A 6-1 senior center from Atlanta, Ga, Gonzales, a first team All-MEAC pick, closed out her career with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. 

Hill scored all 10 of her points in the first half, but no other player reached double figures. 

The Lady Pirates, the Number 3 seed, was led by Sayle with 16, Kaylah Lupos with a double double of 12 and 10, Davis with 10 and Tate-DeFreitas with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.