Hampton Lady Pirates Survive Road Test at Coppin State

BALTIMORE, Maryland – The Hampton University women's basketball team used a run midway through the second half to pull away from Coppin State and escape the Physical Education Complex with an 83-75 win on Saturday.

The Lady Pirates (17-4, 8-0 MEAC) have won seven straight games. Hampton has also won its last 38 games against MEAC foes (including conference tournament games), as well as 24 straight on the road in conference play.

Junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) led four Lady Pirates in double figures with 23 points, while freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) added 19 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) scored 10 points, becoming the 24th player in program history to eclipse the career 1,000-point mark.

Coppin State cut Hampton's lead to 53-49 with 11:01 left to play after Kyra Coleman hit a jumper. But the Lady Pirates responded with a 15-0 run, taking a 68-49 lead with 6:48 to play after a pair of free throws from Bennett.

During that span, Coppin State went nearly five minutes without a field goal.

But the Lady Eagles had one more fight left in them; Jordan Swails hit a layup with 1:59 left to cut Hampton's lead to 75-68, and Amber Griffin hit a trey with 1:28 left to cut the Lady Pirates' lead to 78-71.

But Cole hit a 3-pointer between those baskets, and Tate-DeFreitas added a trey of her own at the 1:03 mark to put Hampton up 81-71. Ashle Craig hit a trey with 17 seconds left to cut Hampton's lead to 81-75, but Tate-DeFreitas iced the game with a pair of free throws with six seconds left.

The Lady Pirates jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead after a layup from redshirt-sophomore forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) at the 16:22 mark of the first half. Coppin State answered with a 10-0 run to take a 12-9 lead after a Coleman 3-point play at the 13:23 mark.

It was the only lead of the game for the Lady Eagles.

Hampton scored the next seven points, taking a 16-12 lead with 12:00 left in the half after a 3-point play from Cole. Coppin State tied the game at 16-16 on a jumper from Larrisa Carter, before Hampton went on a 10-2 run to take a 26-18 lead on a Hamilton layup at the 7:44 mark.

Bennett hit a jumper at the 3:30 mark to give the Lady Pirates a 36-25 lead, but Coppin State closed the half on a 10-3 run to cut Hampton's lead to 39-35 at the break.

Cole had 12 points at the half.                                                                                               

The Lady Pirates shot 42.9 percent (27-for-63) from the floor and made seven of their 16 3pointers (43.8 percent). Hampton also held a decisive 51-37 edge on the glass.

Coppin State (9-11, 6-2 MEAC) shot 40.3 percent (27-for-67) from the floor, while also going 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc. But the Lady Eagles made just 15 of their 26 free throws (57.7 percent).

Coleman led Coppin State with 25 points, while Carter added 21 points.

The Lady Pirates will take on Morgan State on Monday at 4 p.m. to close out their four-game road swing. 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