MIAMI, Florida ( Dec. 30) -- In a defensive effort commonplace over the last five-plus seasons, the Hampton University women's basketball team defeated Auburn 44-42 on Tuesday to win the FIU Sun & Fun Classic at FIU Arena.The Lady Pirates improved to 5-8 on the season.
This also marked Hampton's ninth win over a power-conference school in the tenure of head coach David Six – and the first since a 71-61 win over Virginia Tech last season.
Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.), who had a team-high 17 points, was named Tournament MVP. Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team after chipping in 10 points.
Senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) added 11 points and a team-high five assists. Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) again grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Lady Pirates shot 32.7 percent (17-for-52) from the floor and hit four of 18 3-pointers (22.2 percent). Despite being out-rebounded 47-36, Hampton turned 18 Auburn turnovers into 15 points and led 26-20 in points in the paint.
Auburn's offensive struggles were particularly evident in the first half, when the Tigers shot just 5-for-30 (16.7 percent) from the floor and hit just one of nine 3-pointers. The Tigers had two lengthy scoring droughts in the first half, including the final 4:24 of the half.
Khady Dieng hit a jumper at the 16:35 mark to give Auburn a 7-3 lead, but the Tigers wouldn't hit another field goal until a 3-pointer from Katie Frerking at the 4:24 mark tied the game at 12-12.
A jumper from Jordan 16 seconds later gave the Lady Pirates a 14-12 lead and kicked off a 9-0 run to end the half. A 3-pointer from Cole with 1:40 left in the frame sent Hampton into the locker room with a 21-12 lead.
That lead evaporated once Auburn opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 22-21 lead after a layup from Tra'cee Tanner with 16:22 left. White hit a jumper 20 seconds later to end the run and the Lady Pirates a 23-22 lead.
Auburn cut the lead to 25-24 with 13:31 to play, before a 7-1 run from the Lady Pirates gave Hampton a 32-25 lead after a 3-pointer from Tate-DeFreitas.
A rainbow three from White with 8:26 left put Hampton up 39-29.
Cole hit two free throws with 3:52 left to give the Lady Pirates a 44-37 lead before Auburn scored the next five points to cut the lead to 44-42 with 1:22 left after a free throw from Frerking.
But the Tigers missed their last five shots and committed a turnover in the game's final possession.
Auburn (9-4) shot just 27.6 percent (16-for-58) from the floor and hit just one of 13 3-pointers.
Tanner led the Tigers with 13 points.
The Lady Pirates will return home on Monday, when they play host to Auburn 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.
BOX SCORE
NEXT GAME: 1/5/15 - 7 PM, Princeton at Hampton, Live on PirateTV
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