HU Lady Pirates Stifle Savannah State on the Road

SAVANNAH, Georgia – Host Savannah State couldn't buy a basket in the opening 20 minutes on Saturday at Tiger Arena, and the Hampton University women's basketball team took full advantage en route to a 70-46 win.

The Lady Pirates (15-4, 6-0 MEAC) have won their last 36 games against MEAC foes, and they have not lost since the start of the new calendar year – a streak of five games.

Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) led four Lady Pirates in double figures with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and she finished one rebound shy of her eighth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) added 15 points.

Junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) and senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) each added 11 points and four assists.

The Lady Pirates led 5-0 to open the game, and when Tate-DeFreitas hit a pair of free throws with 12:45 left in the half, Hampton had opened up a 16-6 lead. Savannah State cut the lead to seven, 16-9 on a 3-pointer from Kenyata Hendrix, but Hampton scored nine of the next 13 points to take a 25-13 lead at the 7:16 mark after a Bennett free throw.

Ezinne Kalu cut the lead to 26-18 with 4:38 left in the half with a trey, but the Lady Pirates closed out the half on a 10-0 run, punctuated by a floating 3-pointer from Hamilton at the buzzer.

Hampton went into the break up 36-18.

Bennett led the Lady Pirates with 13 points in the first half, and Savannah State went just 7-for-29 from the floor (24.1 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, while also committing 12 turnovers.

Savannah State cut Hampton's lead to 41-24 with 13:42 left in the second half – after the half got off to a slow start for both teams – before the Lady Pirates scored the next nine points to take a 50-24 lead at the 10:24 mark on a jumper from Cole.

Cole later added two free throws with 5:42 left to put the Lady Pirates up 59-32, giving Hampton its largest lead of the game. Savannah State went on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to 62-43 with 3:29 left on two Kalu free throws.

But the Lady Pirates maintained control, and a 3-pointer from freshman guard Georgianna Gilbeaux (Washington, D.C.) with 15 seconds left pushed the game to its final margin.

The Lady Pirates shot 40.7 percent (22-for-54) from the floor and made five of their 16 3-pointers (31.3 percent). Hampton held a 43-39 advantage on the glass, and the Lady Pirates turned Savannah State over 22 times.

Savannah State (11-9, 4-2 MEAC) shot just 28.3 percent (17-for-60) from the floor and went just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from behind the arc. The Tigers also went just 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from the free throw line.

Kalu led the Tigers with 15 points, despite going just 4-for-16 from the floor.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they head to Orangeburg, S.C. to take on South Carolina State at 5:30 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