HAMPTON, Va. -- Angel Golden scored 23 points as Bethune-Cookman defeated Hampton 61-56 Monday night in a rematch of the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship game.

Ashanti Hunt posted 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Chasimmie Brown had 10 points and seven rebounds as the Lady Wildcats (15-4 overall, 7-0 MEAC) won their seventh straight and 17th consecutive regular season conference game to avenge last March's 52-49 title game setback.

Bethune-Cookman held Hampton (8-11, 4-2) to 13.3 field goal shooting (2-15) in the fourth quarter. Golden, who had 19 first-half points, gave the Lady Wildcats a 54-53 lead with 6:06 remaining. Hampton would go scoreless for nearly six minutes of the final frame.

A traditional three-point play from Briana Hardee with 5:21 left, a Hunt jumper with 1:11 to play and an uncontested Brown lay-up with 56 seconds left gave Bethune-Cookman a 61-53 lead.

Golden finished 5-11 from three-point range and also had seven rebounds. Freshman Brianna Battle hit her first three from three-point range and finished with nine.

Mikayla Sayle led Hampton with 14 points, followed by K'lynn Willis with 12. The Pirates used a 10-0 second quarter run to take a 37-34 halftime lead.

Bethune-Cookman hosts Coppin State Saturday at 2 p.m.

HEAD COACH VANESSA BLAIR-LEWIS

"Angel came out and set the tone, If they were going to leave her open, she was going to knock it down."

"The fourth quarter  [defensive effort] is who we are, and our girls have bought in. We didn't come out the first half and did what we wanted to do defensively, but we made the adjustment in the second half."

 "The girls had this game circled on their calendars a long time.  Every time I look at that [championship game] stat sheet, I think about the goals this team has set. We're staying on track and I'm happy for those girls in the locker room."

"I'll take an undefeated January, also. And February, too."

Ashanti Hunt

"This feels good, not only for the players who played tonight, but also for the ones last year. We got them back."

"Everyone was important tonight."

"I just had to get out of my own way and find my shot."

"This feels good tonight, but it's still one game at a time."

Angel Golden

"I wanted to come out tonight and show them who I am. I didn't get to play in the championship game last year. "Tonight was about confidence. And if  I miss a shot, I get back on defense."

NOTES: This was Golden's sixth career 20-point game, and B-CU is undefeated when she scores 20 … This was the fourth time in MEAC play the Lady Wildcats have held an opponent to under 10 points in the fourth quarter … B-CU's 47.2 FG% was its best in conference play … B-CU shot a season-low seven FTs; Hampton only had seven as well … Brown has scored in double figures the last three games … B-CU concludes January with a perfect 7-0 mark, its second undefeated month in as many seasons. B-CU was 8-0 last February.