Hampton Lady Pirates Beat Aggies, Go Unbeaten in MEAC

HAMPTON, Virginia -- On a night where the seniors had the spotlight at the HU Convocation Center, the Hampton University women's basketball team survived a 54-51 win over North Carolina A&T on Thursday thanks to a freshman.

Not only did freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) pour in 15 points, she scored four straight points in the closing minutes as the Lady Pirates trailed. With 2:10 remaining, Tracy King put the Lady Aggies up 51-48.

Tate-DeFreitas answered with a jumper 13 seconds later, and then she hit two free throws with 1:14 left to give the Lady Pirates a 52-51 lead.

Sophomore forward Tyler Hobgood (Oxford, N.C.) and junior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) each added a free throw in the closing moments to clinch the victory – and send Hampton (25-4, 16-0 MEAC) to an undefeated mark in conference play for the second straight season.

Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) led the way with 18 points in her final home game. Senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) added eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds.

The Lady Pirates led for much of the second half, despite only hitting five field goals in the frame, and Hampton led 48-43 with 5:01 left after Ward hit a pair of free throws. But N.C. A&T answered with a 7-2 run to take that 51-48 lead on two free throws from King.

The Lady Pirates led 32-26 at the break, and Hampton held its largest lead of the game with 19:35 left in the game, after Cole opened the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Lady Pirates up 35-26. But the Lady Aggies went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 35-34 at the 16:56 mark, setting up a tight finish.

The start was much the same, and the Lady Aggies held a 16-13 lead with 11:23 left in the first half after a layup from Debbie Smith. But the Lady Pirates answered by scoring the next 11 points, taking a 24-16 lead on a Hamilton jumper with 4:56 left in the half.

Bennett added a jumper at the 3:04 mark to put Hampton up 28-20, before N.C. A&T scored six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 30-26 on a trey from Ariel Bursey with 26 seconds left.

Ward hit a jumper with five seconds left to send the Lady Pirates into the half with the lead.

The Lady Pirates shot 27.9 percent (19-for-68) from the floor and hit three of 16 3-pointers. Hampton shot 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) from the free throw line and turned 17 N.C. A&T turnovers into 10 points.

The Lady Aggies (23-5, 13-3 MEAC) shot 31.0 percent (18-for-58) from the floor and out-rebounded Hampton 47-44. N.C. A&T only made three of its 10 3-pointers, though, and missed three crucial free throws in the second half.

Bursey led N.C. A&T with 18 points.

The 2014 MEAC Tournament will be held Monday through Saturday at Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Va. The Lady Pirates, as the top seed and four-time defending champion, will have a first-round bye and play in Wednesday's quarterfinal round at 12 p.m.

Hampton will go into the tournament on a 15-game winning streak, and the Lady Pirates have won their last 46 games against MEAC opponents – including conference tournament games. The win over North Carolina A&T also gives the Lady Pirates an 18-game home MEAC winning streak.

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.

Box Score

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS