HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team fell to top-ranked South Carolina 69-49 Wednesday evening at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Lady Pirates (3-6) had their three-game winning streak snapped.
 
Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the Lady Pirates with 19 points, while senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) went 4-for-7 from the floor to chip in 11 points and senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) chipped in nine points.
 
Redshirt junior forward Tyler Hobgood (Oxford, N.C.) grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 34.6 percent (18-for-52) from the floor and made five of 17 3-pointers (29.4 percent). Hampton was also 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the free throw line.
 
South Carolina took advantage of its height en route to a 48-21 rebounding edge – including an 18-6 advantage on the offensive glass. As a result, the Gamecocks – who turned the ball over 18 times – had a 17-6 edge in second-chance points.
 
A 3-pointer from Cole with 14:20 left in the first half gave the Lady Pirates a 12-11 lead, and when White added a jumper at the 11:57 mark, it tied the game at 14-14.
 
But the Gamecocks scored the next 10 points to take a 24-14 lead with 8:23 left in the first half after a jumper from A'ja Wilson, and a 3-pointer from Tiffany Wilson at the 3:43 mark put South Carolina up 32-19.
 
That bucket capped off a 19-5 run for the Gamecocks.
 
White hit two free throws with 1:11 left in the half to cut the lead to 33-23, and a jumper from Tate-DeFreitas with 29 seconds left cut the Gamecocks' lead to 35-25.
 
But Wilson hit a layup eight seconds later to give South Carolina a 37-25 halftime lead.
 
South Carolina scored the first five points of the second half, taking a 42-25 lead with 15:25 left to play after a jumper from Elem Ibiam. The Gamecocks later held a 48-28 lead, before the Lady Pirates went on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 52-37 after Tate-DeFreitas hit two free throws with 9:00 left.
 
The Gamecocks answered with a 14-2 run to take a 66-39 lead with 3:58 remaining.
 
Hampton responded to that run with a 10-0 run of its own, cutting the lead to 66-49 with 52 seconds left after a fastbreak layup from Tate-DeFreitas.
 
South Carolina (10-0) shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) from the floor – thanks in large part to a 54.5-percent clip (12-for-22) in the second half. The Gamecocks were also 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from behind the arc.
 
Mitchell led South Carolina with 20 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Harrisonburg, Va. on Saturday to take on James Madison at 2 p.m. 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.