Game Notes

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Hampton University women's basketball team's road trip continues on the West Coast on Tuesday, when the Lady Pirates square off against UC-Santa Barbara in The Thunderdome at 10 p.m. EST.

This will be the third game in a five-game road trip for Hampton, and the first of five in the state of California.

The Lady Pirates (3-1) will look to get a winning streak going, coming off a 72-63 win at Texas State on Saturday for their first road win of the season. Freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the Lady Pirates with a career-high 29 points on 9-for-19 shooting.

Tate-DeFreitas has scored in double figures in three of her first four collegiate games, and she leads the Lady Pirates in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. That average also ranks her seventh in the MEAC through Sunday's action.

She was also named the conference's Rookie of the Week.

Senior forward Alyssa Bennett (Hampton, Va.) added 17 points, and senior guard Nicole Hamilton (Hampton, Va.) grabbed a team- and career-high 10 rebounds.

The Gauchos came into the 2013-14 season, their third under head coach Carlene Mitchell, with three returning starters. UC-Santa Barbara went 16-17 last season, finishing fourth in the Big West with an 11-7 mark. The Gauchos were picked to finish fifth in the Big West this season, and senior guard Nicole Nesbit leads three players in double figures, averaging 18.0 points per game.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Hampton and UC-Santa Barbara.

The Lady Pirates are 0-1 against schools currently in the Big West; their only contest was on Dec. 20, 2004, when the Lady Pirates fell 64-58 at UC-Davis. Hampton has never faced UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, UC-Santa Barbara, Hawaii, or Long Beach State.

Under head coach David Six, the Lady Pirates are 44-16 in road games over the past four-plus seasons. Hampton's success on the road has been a large part of the team's recent dominance in the MEAC; the Lady Pirates were a perfect 8-0 in road conference games last season.

The Lady Pirates fell at LSU in their road opener on Wednesday, before winning 72-63 at Texas State on Saturday.

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.