WASHINGTON (December 12, 2025) – Howard University women's basketball team returns to The District Saturday (Dec. 13), squaring off against familiar foe Hampton in the next chapter of the Battle of the Real HU. Tipoff is slated for noon inside CareFirst Arena in Southeast D.C.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
 
Bison Nation can follow all the action via live stats and/or ESPN+. Tickets are still available here.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
HAMPTON
 
On Dec. 6, the Pirates captured their third straight in a 65-47 win over Edward Waters. Kiki McElrath led Hampton with 17 points.
 
HOWARD
 
Wednesday (Dec. 10), redshirt junior guard Zoe Stewart (Terre Haute, Ind.) scored a team-high 18 points and senior forward Nile Miller (Woodbury, N.J.) added 12 points but it was not enough as the Bison (7-5) fell, 76-50, to hot shooting Virginia (UVA) at John Paul Jones Arena.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/KEY RESERVES
 
HAMPTON PROBABLE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      Class                Position           2025-26 Stats                        
15        Kiki McElrath                          Junior              Guard              12.3 ppg & 2.8 rpg
00        Aaryn Battle                            Junior              Guard               8.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg & 33 assists
10        Tyra Kennedy                          Junior              Guard               3.4 ppg & 1.7 rpg
1          Le'Asia Foreman                      Senior              Forward           5.3 ppg & 6.9 rpg
24        Aisha Dabo                              Graduate         Forward           3.2 ppg & 2.6 rpg
 
HAMPTON KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                                      Class                Position           2025-26 Stats                        
14        Kayla Lezama                          Junior              Guard              11.8 ppg & 3.3 rpg
3          Olivia Smith                              Senior              Guard              6.3 ppg
 
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      Class                Position           2025-26 Stats                        
24        Zennia Thomas                        Senior              Forward           15.8 ppg & 7.3 rpg
25        Nile Miller                               Senior              Forward           7.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg & 35 steals
4          Ariella Henigan                        Freshman        Guard               6.3 ppg & 2.1 rpg
5          Destiny Bynum-Johnson         Junior              Guard               5.0 ppg & 3.9 rpg
23        Zoe Stewart                             R-Junior           Guard           12.7 ppg & 48-percent FG%
 
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                          Class                Position           2025-26 Stats                                    
15        April Edwards              R-Sophomore Guard               5.1 ppg & 86-percent FT%
11        Sa'lah Hemingway       Junior              Forward           2.7 ppg & 2.8 rpg
21        Rayne Durant              Junior              Forward           3.2 ppg & 2.0 rpg
 
THE COACHES
 
Howard is coached by Ty Grace (New Haven, '99), who is in her 11^th season and the second winningest coach in school history. Hampton is led by Tamisha Augustin (Alabama A&M, '05), who is her second season at the helm.
 
SERIES RECORD
 
The two former MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) powers have not met since the 2017-18 season. Howard has won the last two but the teams have split the last eight matchups. Hampton holds a 32-13 advantage in the series, which dated back to 1999.
 
GAME NOTES
 
HAMPTON
 
The Pirates lead the CAA (Coastal Athletic Association) in turnover margin and steals (10.2)…McElrath is third in three-point shooting…Akilah Shelton is second in blocked shots…Olivia Smith is third in assist/turnover ratio and ninth in assists…Le'Asia Foreman is eighth in rebounding…Nationally, as a team, Hampton is tied for 24^th in assists/turnover ratio and Shelton is tied for 17^th in blocked shots.
 
HOWARD
 
Howard is holding opponents to 25-percent shooting from three and allowing only 62 points per game…Some of Howard's success in close victories has been its free throw shooting, converting on 75-percent from the charity stripe…The vaunted Howard defense continues to be its staple, recording almost 20 points off opponents' turnovers while also averaging 10.1 steals and 4.2 blocks…Nationally, Miller is tied for seventh in steals and 34^th in steals per game…Senior forward Zennia Thomas (Cleveland) is tied for seventh in free throw attempts and ninth in free throws made…Howard is the preseason pick to win the MEAC…Miller and Thomas are preseason First Team All-MEAC selections…Stewart's 23 points versus Fairfield (Dec. 5) was a career high, previous high was 19 points when she was at Missouri State…Stewart has reached double figures for the past six games and during that stretch, she has connected on 40-of-80 from the field, including 10-of-26 from three-point land, and while also picking up 10 steals…Thomas has reached double figures in all but two games this season…The nine-point effort at UVA (Dec. 10) snapped Thomas' nine-game streak of double figures in scoring…In the MEAC, Howard leads the conference in scoring defense, three-point shooting defense, free throw shooting and assist/turnover ratio…Individually, Thomas still leads the MEAC in scoring and rebounding…Stewart has moved up the ranks and leads the MEAC in field goal shooting…Miller is second in steals and eighth in rebounding…Freshman guard Ariella Henigan (Chicago) ranks fourth in free throw shooting…The Bison have played only three games at home all season (3-0)…They have played teams from the Big East, Atlantic 10, CAA, Big Ten and ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) and have a game a Power Four Cincinnati (Big 12) Tuesday (Dec. 16).
 
NEXT UP
 
Howard travels to Cincinnati to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats Tuesday (Dec. 16) at 6:30 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the official Howard Athletics website www.hubison.com.