HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 15, 2016)-Malia Tate-DeFreitas, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Player of the Year, scored 18 of her game-high 23 points in the second quarter to lead the Hampton Lady Pirates to a 60-47 MEAC victory over Morgan State on Monday, afternoon at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The loss would end the Lady Bears' season long winning streak at five games. It would be Morgan State's longest winning streak since the 2012-13 season.
 
Morgan State (11-13, 9-3 MEAC) which entered the contest in a two-way tie for first-place with Bethune-Cookman, was led by Tykyrah Williams, who finished with a team-leading 16 points. Danielle Robinson came off the bench to score 12 points, while leading scorer, Braennan Farrar, totaled eight points, a game-high four assists and two steals.
 
Hampton (11-13, 9-2 MEAC), which was coming off an upset loss at rival Howard last week, seemed to still be in shock mode from the loss and came out flat. Despite Morgan State jumping out to a 9-0 advantage in the first five minutes of the game and Hampton missing its first six shots, it just felt like the Lady Pirates were not going to make it that easy for Morgan State.
 
Morgan State certainly didn't help their cause, turning the ball over 35 times. The Lady Pirates would turn those turnovers into 31 points. Hampton had 23 turnovers and Morgan State scored 16 points off of them. Hampton finished the game with 20 steals, five each by Tate-DeFreitas and Kaylah Lupoe.
 
Trailing 14-8 after one quarter, the hosts scored the first nine points to open up the second quarter in part of a 17-2 spurt, capped off by a three-pointer from Tate-DeFreitas to give the Lady Pirates a 25-15 lead with 5:33 remaining in the first half. The guests would get within seven points at 29-22, following two free throws by Zuri White, but Hampton would close out the half scoring the final seven points to take a 36-22 advantage at the half. Hampton would hold the Lady Bears to just one field goal in the second period on 10 attempts, while outscoring the guests 28-8 for the quarter.
 
Hampton took its largest lead of the game (16 points) at 38-22 with 9:16 to play, but Farrar hit two straight three-pointers to cut the deficit to 38-28 with 7:45 to play in the third. The Lady Pirates' lead would blossom to 14 points three separate times for the remainder of the period and the hosts held a 47-37 lead after three quarters.
 
Morgan State would not go away, as a quick 5-0 run with a three-pointer by Robinson and two free throws from Simone Sampson, cut the Hampton lead to five points at 47-42 with 9:01 to play.
 
Unfortunately, the Lady Bears would get no closer. A 6-0 run by the Lady Pirates pushed the lead up to 11 points (53-42) with 4:37 left to play. Another Robinson three-pointer Morgan State triggered a 5-0 run, capped off by a layup from Williams to make it a six point game (53-47) with 2:37 left in the contest. That would be the final points for the Lady Bears, as Hampton closed out the game scoring the final seven points for the win.
 
Hampton's victory would extend their winning streak to 12 straight over the Lady Bears, as the Lady Pirates improved to 30-11 all-time over Morgan State. Hampton also improved to 17-2 all-time at home against the Lady Bears. Morgan State's last win in the series was a 90-87 overtime victory in Hampton on Feb. 23, 2009.
 
The Lady Bears will return home for a brief two-game home stand, when they welcome North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T to Hill Field House. Morgan State will first take on the Eagles of North Carolina Central on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. The Lady Bears take on the Lady Aggies of N.C. A&T on Monday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m.