Hampton Lady Pirates Draw Drexel in WNIT First Round

HAMPTON, Virginia – The Hampton University women's basketball team will compete in the 2015 Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), heading to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Drexel on Thursday in the first round.

Game time will be announced on Tuesday.

2015 Postseason WNIT Bracket

The Lady Pirates (18-12) earned an automatic bid to the WNIT by virtue of winning their fifth straight MEAC regular-season title with a mark of 14-2 – despite a 52-50 loss to Maryland Eastern Shore this past Wednesday in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals.

Hampton is led by sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.), the MEAC Player of the Year, who leads the MEAC, and ranks 12th nationally, in scoring at 21.6 points per contest. She is second in the MEAC and 15th nationally in steals, and she is third in the MEAC in 3-pointers per game.

Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) averages 10.7 points per game, leading the MEAC in 3-point percentage (.434), and redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 6.6 boards per contest.

Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.), a Third Team All-MEAC selection, averages 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Drexel (20-10) earned the Colonial Athletic Association's (CAA) automatic bid, despite a 55-48 loss to Delaware in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament on Friday. Prior to that loss, the Dragons had won six straight games.

The Dragons finished second in the CAA regular-season standings behind James Madison.

Sophomore forward Sarah Curran leads the Dragons in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per contest, while junior guard Rachel Pearson is averaging 11.1 points per game. Senior forward Jamila Thompson is the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 4.9 boards per contest.

All told, three Drexel players who have played in at least 25 games are averaging at least four rebounds per game.

Curran was named First Team All-CAA, and Pearson was a Second Team All-CAA honoree.

Drexel won the Postseason WNIT in 2013.

Hampton and Drexel have met once before; last season, the Lady Pirates traveled to the Daskalakis Athletic Center, overcoming a 14-point halftime deficit for a 50-47 win.

To learn more about the WNIT, visit www.womensnit.com.

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