Dating back to the 2011-12 season, the Lady Pirates (7-3, 2-0 MEAC) have won their last 32 games against conference foes, including MEAC Tournament games.
Senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) and freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) each led the Lady Pirates with 16 points, while Tate-DeFreitas and redshirt-sophomore forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) each grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Hamilton also dished out three assists, blocked three shots, and grabbed a career-high eight steals.
Bethune-Cookman scored the first basket of the game – a jumper from Shakeyia Colyer – before the Lady Pirates responded with a 25-2 run to take a 25-4 lead with 7:21 left in the first half following a fastbreak layup from Hamilton.
During that stretch, Bethune-Cookman went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal.
The Lady Wildcats then scored the next nine points to cut the lead to 25-13 after a 3-pointer from Rene Chastity Taylor at the 3:26 mark. In fact, following Hampton taking that 25-4 lead, the Lady Wildcats closed the half by scoring 15 of the next 17 points, going into the half down 27-19.
Tate-DeFreitas had 10 points at the half.
Both teams got off to a slow start to open the second half, as the first field goal didn't come until Hamilton hit a jumper with 17:54 left in the game to give Hampton a 29-19 lead. Bethune-Cookman's first field goal of the half didn't come until the 12:59 mark, a layup from Kailyn Williams to cut the lead to 30-21.
Tate-DeFreitas hit two free throws with 11:19 to play to give the Lady Pirates a 32-22 lead, before Taylor cut that lead to 32-24 with 10:53 left.
Hampton then rattled off the next nine points – including back-to-back fastbreak layups from Hamilton, a fastbreak layup from Tate-DeFreitas, and a Hamilton 3-pointer – to take a 41-24 lead with 7:08 remaining in the game.
The Lady Pirates scored just one basket the rest of the way, as Bethune-Cookman closed the game with an 11-2 run – but Hampton built enough of a cushion to hold on for the win.
Hamilton had nine points and five steals in the second half alone.
The Lady Pirates shot just 25.9 percent (15-for-58) from the floor and hit four of their 16 3-pointers. Hampton did, however, score 21 points off of 24 Bethune-Cookman turnovers.
Bethune-Cookman (2-7, 0-2 MEAC) shot just 26.4 percent (14-for-53) from the floor and made just two of its 13 3-pointers. The Lady Wildcats did, however, hold a 46-42 edge on the glass – including a 31-26 advantage in defensive rebounds.
Taylor led Bethune-Cookman with 10 points on 3-for-18 shooting.
The Lady Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 18, when they head to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Drexel at 7 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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