BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 8, 2015)-Malia Tate-DeFreitas connected on 12-of-14 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 25 points to lead visiting Hampton to a 65-51 victory over Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game on Monday evening at Hill Field House. The win was the first of the season for the Lady Pirates (1-7, 1-0 MEAC) and was their 11th straight over Morgan State.
Chanel Green came off the bench to score 13 points, while Ryan Jordan finished with a team-high six rebounds and added six points for a Hampton team that shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the first half and 44 percent (22-of-50) for the game.
Morgan State (2-7, 1-1 MEAC) was led by Braennan Farrar, who earlier in the day was named MEAC Player of the Week. Farrar, who was coming off her career-high 33-point performance on Saturday, finished with a team-high 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Lexus Spears and Zuri White each finished with nine points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while Tykyrah Williams also scored nine points and had a game-high five steals.
The Lady Bears, who entered the contest ranked last (344th) in field goal percentage at 29.7 per game, shot 34 percent (16-of-47), including 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point range. Morgan State, which had 33 turnovers in the game, produced just four assists. The hosts did hold a 40-26 rebounding advantage over the guests.
Hampton began the second period on a 9-0 spurt to increase its lead to 30-12, following a three-point play by Gilbeaux with 8:01 remaining. Morgan State would pull within 13 points on three occasions, but couldn't get any closer, as the Lady Pirates would take a 40-25 advantage at the intermission.
Morgan State would come out scoring nine straight in part of an 11-2 run to pull within 42-36 with 4:16 left in the period. Neither team would generate any offense the rest of the way, as the Lady Bears would hold Hampton to just three points and trailed 43-38 at the end of three quarters.
The Lady Bears would cut into the deficit and pulled within three points (45-42) following a pair of free throws by Farrar with 7:08 to play. But a 9-2 run by the Lady Pirates over the next three minutes, gave the guests a 10-point cushion with 4:04 remaining in the game.
Morgan State got within eight points (48-56) on two free throws by Williams with 2:07 to play, but never really threatened. Tate-DeFreitas, the reigning 2014-15 MEAC Player of the Year and 2015-16 Preseason Player of the Year selection, scored seven of the Lady Pirates final nine points to preserve the win.Â
The Lady Bears, who will now return to non-conference play for the rest of 2015, travels to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.
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