ORANGEBURG, S.C. – A career day from sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas led the Hampton University women's basketball team to an 88-53 win over South Carolina State on Monday at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
 
Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) dropped a career-high 37 points on 14-for-29 shooting and six 3-pointers, racking up her fourth career 30-point effort – and her second this season. She eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career in the process, becoming the 26th player in program history to do so.
 
Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) recorded her second double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 22 points on 6-for-13 shooting to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) added 12 points.
 
Redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.
 
The Lady Pirates (10-10, 6-1 MEAC) have won each of the last 10 meetings with South Carolina State, and Hampton has won five of its last six games.
 
Hampton shot 40.5 percent (32-for-79) from the floor – including a 50-percent clip (19-for-38) in the second half – and made 11 of its 26 3-pointers (42.3 percent). The Lady Pirates dominated on the glass to the tune of 54-30.
 
Hampton out-rebounded the Bulldogs 29-8 on the offensive end.
 
The opening 12 or so minutes were a tight, back-and-forth affair, and the Bulldogs led 18-17 after a layup from Jazzmine Johnson with 8:39 left in the half. A 3-pointer from Tate-DeFreitas at the 7:54 mark put the Lady Pirates up 20-18.
 
That bucket kicked off a 20-4 run to end the half, and Hampton entered the break with a 37-22 lead, thanks to a pair of free throws from Jordan with 51 seconds left in the frame.
 
Tate-DeFreitas had 16 points at the half.
 
She wasted no time reaching the 1,000-point mark in the second half, stealing the Bulldogs' in-bound pass to open the frame and taking it the other way for a layup that gave the Lady Pirates a 39-22 lead.
 
South Carolina State cut the lead to 49-37 on a Kourtney Williams jumper with 13:39 left to play, before the Lady Pirates went on a 13-0 run to take a 62-37 lead with 9:34 left after a jumper from Tate-DeFreitas.
 
Tate-DeFreitas set her new career high with a trey with 5:09 left to play, giving Hampton a 75-45 lead.
 
From that point on, Hampton led by no less than 21 points. A layup from sophomore guard Georgianna Gilbeaux (Washington, D.C.) with 4:17 left to play gave the Lady Pirates a 79-47 lead.
 
Hampton's largest lead of the game came in the closing moments, as a jumper from senior guard Lauren Johnson (Cairo, Ga.) put the Lady Pirates up 88-53.
 
South Carolina State (12-7, 4-4 MEAC) shot just 37.3 percent (19-for-51) from the floor and hit four of 15 3-pointers (26.7 percent).
 
Johnson led the Bulldogs with 14 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Norfolk, Va. on Saturday to take on Norfolk State at 4 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.hamptonpriates.com.