HAMPTON, Va. – Fresh off its second straight regular-season conference title, the Hampton University women's basketball team enters conference tournament action as one of the best teams in the nation, according to NCAA Division I statistics updated on Friday.

As of games through March 1, the Lady Pirates (23-4, 15-1 MEAC) are second in the nation in both scoring defense, holding opponents to just 46.9 points per game, and 3-point field goal percentage defense, only letting teams hit 20.7 percent of shots from behind the arc.

Hampton is also third in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 32.3 percent shooting.

The Lady Pirates have held 21 of their 27 opponents under 60 points this season, including 16 under 50. Hampton has held 15 of its last 22 opponents under 50 points – including each of the last seven.

Hampton is also fourth in the nation in turnover margin (7.15) and 10th in both scoring margin (+19.4) turnovers per game (13.5). The Lady Pirates' .852 winning percentage is also the 14th-best in all of Div. I.

The Lady Pirates are also 27th in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (6.9), 29th in assist/turnover ratio (0.97), 30th in free throw percentage (.747) and 31st in rebound margin (+5.7).

In the individual rankings, senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) leads the nation with 7.4 assists per game, while also ranking fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.48.

Senior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas), who on Thursday became the 23rd Lady Pirate to reach 1,000 career points with an 18-point effort at North Carolina Central, is seventh in the nation in 3-point field goals per game, hitting 3.0 per contest.

She hit three shots from distance on Thursday.

The Lady Pirates, the top seed in the 2012 MEAC Basketball Tournament, will play on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round, facing either No. 8 Bethune-Cookman or No. 9 Norfolk State at 12 p.m. in the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hampton is the two-time defending MEAC Tournament champion.

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.