BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 16, 2015)-Despite suffering their first multiple MEAC losses in the same season since the 2009-10 campaign, following two defeats this season in three games near the end of January, the Lady Pirates on Monday evening proved they are still the class of the MEAC.

Malia Tate-DeFreitas scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Kenia Cole came off the bench to score 15 points, dish out four assists and record a game-high two steals to lead visiting Hampton to a 78-44 thumping of the Lady Bears in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game at Hill Field House.

The Lady Pirates (13-11, 9-2 MEAC) also received 10 points from Areana Davis, who came off the bench to score 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while Kyani White added 10 points, had a game-high five assists and tallied a game-high two steals. Brielle Ward hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds to help Hampton to a 47-41 rebounding advantage over the Lady Bears.

The win was the fourth straight for Hampton and its ninth victory in its last 11 games. The Lady Pirates, who swept the season series, also improved to 26-11 all-time against Morgan State, while earning their eighth consecutive win over the Lady Bears.

Morgan State (9-16, 6-6 MEAC), which has dropped three straight and four of its last five games, was led by Tykyrah Williams' team-high 12 points and six rebounds. Williams, who fell a point shy of matching her season high, scored 10 points in the first half on 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.

Braennan Farrar added nine points for Morgan State, while leading scorer Tracey Carrington, who entered the game averaging 19.2 points, was held to a season-low six points. Danielle Robinson and Simone Sampson each added six points. Sampson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and had a game-high two blocks.

Hampton broke 9-9 game, by using a 22-5 run over the span of nine minutes capped off by a lay-up by Cole with 7:39 left in the half. The Lady Pirates took their largest lead of the half (18 points) on a jumper by Tate-DeFreitas at the 2:04 mark to make it a 41-23 advantage for the Lady Pirates. Hampton would take a 43-25 lead into the locker room.

The Lady Bears, who struggled to find offense all night, shot just 11-for-53 (20.8 percent). To add insult to injury, after Farrar scored on a lay-up with 15:09 to play, Morgan State would miss its next 15 shots.

While Morgan State was struggling on one end to make shots, they had just as much trouble on the other end in stopping Hampton, which would go on a 23-5 run to extend its lead to 40 points (78-38), its largest of the evening, following a three-pointer by Lindsay Williams with 2:10 to play.

The Lady Bears would finally end Hampton's run, as well as put a stop to their own scoring drought of over 13 minutes without a field goal when Sampson hit a jumper with 1:52 left in the game.

Hampton's bench would outscore the Lady Bears 37-9 and scored 30 points off of 21 Morgan State turnovers. Hampton held a 12-0 advantage in fast break points and outscored the hosts, 26-12 in points in the paint. The Lady Pirates also had 15 assists, while the Lady Bears recorded two assists the entire game.

Morgan State will head to the 'Old North State' this weekend for two important MEAC contests. The Lady Bears will first travel to Durham, N.C. to face the Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. at McDougald-McLendon Gym. The Lady Bears will then take on the North Carolina A&T State Lady Aggies on Monday, Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C.