Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will play host to the No. 1 team in the nation Wednesday night, as the Lady Pirates will square off against the Gamecocks of South Carolina at 7 p.m. at the HU Convocation Center.
 
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Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (3-5) picked up their third straight win on Dec. 8 with a 63-43 win over Morgan State in their MEAC opener. Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) led the way with a career-high 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while redshirt junior forward Tyler Hobgood (Oxford, N.C.) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with a career-high eight points.
 
The Opponent: The Gamecocks (9-0) are the No. 1 team in both polls and have opened the season with nine straight wins — including over ranked foes Syracuse and Duke. South Carolina, in its seventh season under head coach Dawn Staley, has three players in double figures, led by freshman guard A'ja Wilson's 14.3 points per game and junior guard Tiffany Mitchell's 14.0 points a game.
 
The Series: The Lady Pirates are 0-1 against South Carolina following a 45-34 loss in the 2012 Paradise Jam.
 
Lady Pirates Against the SEC: Hampton is 3-10 against schools currently in the SEC, with all three wins coming under head coach David Six. The Lady Pirates are 0-2 against Alabama, 0-1 against Arkansas, 1-2 against Florida, 0-1 against Georgia, 0-1 against Kentucky, 1-1 against LSU, 1-0 against Mississippi State, 0-1 against South Carolina, and 0-1 against Vanderbilt.
 
Lady Pirates at Home: The Lady Pirates were a perfect 11-0 at home in 2012-13, and in their five years under head coach David Six, they are 48-7 in the HU Convocation Center. Hampton had not lost at home since Jan. 28, 2012, falling to Coppin State in overtime, prior to a loss to American back on Dec. 4 of last season. Hampton is 1-1 at home this season after beating Morgan State 63-43 on Dec. 8, and the Lady Pirates have won 11 of their last 12 home games.
 
Lady Pirates Picked to Finish Second: Hampton has been picked to finish second in the MEAC this season in a preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. North Carolina A&T, the 2013-14 MEAC runners-up, were chosen to win the conference this season.
 
Tate-DeFreitas, Cole Honored: Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, while senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC. It was yet another honor for Tate-DeFreitas, the 2013-14 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-MEAC selection, VaSID Rookie of the Year, and VaSID Second Team All-State selection.
 
Six Chasing History: In five-plus seasons with the Lady Pirates, Six has won 130 games, making him the program's all-time winningest coach at the Div. I level – surpassing Patricia Cage-Bibbs. The record-breaking win came at Penn on Dec. 5.
 
Lady Pirates Against Power Conferences: In Six's five-plus seasons at the helm, the Lady Pirates have enjoyed success against the six so-called "power conferences:" the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-12, and SEC. After a 74-60 loss to Washington State on Nov. 25, the Lady Pirates are 8-15 against teams in these six conferences — including a 2-3 mark last season.
 
Tate-DeFreitas a Scoring Machine: Tate-DeFreitas was named an All-American by Parade magazine following her senior year of high school. She averaged 29 points per game as a senior in high school, and she became just the ninth player in Pennsylvania state history — male or female — to score at least 3,000 career points. The three-time AP Class A Player of the Year finished her high school career as Steelton-Highspire's all-time leading scorer, regardless of gender. The MEAC Rookie of the Year had 15 points, six rebounds, and four steals in her collegiate debut against Saint Peter's, and she led the team in scoring (and ranked fourth in the MEAC) with 18.1 points a game, and she had monster performances against Utah State (career-high 36 points), Norfolk State (33 points), Delaware State (29 points), and South Carolina State (27 points). She has scored at least 20 points in five of the Lady Pirates' first eight games this season, including a season-high 27 at Penn.
 
Ward Crashed the Glass: The Lady Pirates played 33 games in 2013-14, and in 13 of those games, forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed double-digit rebounds — including a school-record 23 against Virginia Tech on Jan. 1. She was second on the team with 8.3 rebounds per game (fourth in the MEAC), and she pulled down 11 boards in a loss at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 26. She also grabbed 15 rebounds against North Carolina A&T, 13 rebounds at Drexel on Dec. 18, as well as 12 each against Kansas State and Delaware State. She was key in the Lady Pirates' MEAC Tournament championship game against Coppin State, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 10 points for her lone double-double of the season.
 
Cole Heated Up: In her last 21 games of 2013-14, Cole averaged 13.0 points per contest — including her career-best 30-point effort against Virginia Tech on Jan. 1. Cole also had 19 points against Brown on Dec. 29, and in her last 21 games, Cole is 49-for-125 (.392) from 3-point range — and 83-for-210 (.395) from the floor.
 
A Career Day for Hobgood: Hobgood had a career day at Penn, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds against the Quakers — including nine on the offensive end. Through eight games so far this season, Hobgood is averaging a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game to rank third in the MEAC — after averaging 3.5 boards per contest in 21 games last season. She leads the conference in offensive rebounds.
 
Loaded With Transfers: Of the seven newcomers currently on the Lady Pirates roster, four of them come from other Div. I schools. Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) transferred over from East Carolina, while junior guard Kristine Rose (Miramar, Fla.) comes over from Xavier and redshirt-junior forward Lindsay Williams (Bowie, Md.) was at Mount St. Mary's before heading to Anne Arundel Community College. In addition, Marshall played at Iona.
 
All They Do is Win: The Lady Pirates came into the 2014-15 season with the best winning percentage among all Div. I programs in the commonwealth of Virginia, sitting at .784 (127-35) in Six's first five years at the helm. Hampton has won 20 games or more in each of Six's five seasons and were on an 18-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in the nation, prior to their NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan State.
 
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.