Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will return home for its 2014-15 non-conference finale on Monday, as the Lady Pirates play host to Princeton at 7 p.m. in the HU Convocation Center.
 
Live Stats: Click here.
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM.
Live Video: Click here.
 
Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (5-8) have won back-to-back games following Tuesday's 44-42 win over Auburn that helped Hampton win the Sun & Fun Classic at Florida International. Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) was named Tournament MVP after pouring in 17 points, while senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
The Opponent: Princeton (15-0), in its eighth season under head coach Courtney Banghart, has won 15 straight games to open the 2014-15 season after beating Fordham 67-53 on Tuesday. Senior guard Blake Dietrick leads three Tigers in double figures, averaging 15.4 points per game, while junior guard Michelle Miller is averaging 12.6 points per contest. Junior guard/forward Annie Tarakchian is averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game.
   
The Series: This will be the first-ever meeting between Hampton and Princeton.
 
Lady Pirates Against the Ivy League: Hampton is 2-1 against schools currently in the Ivy League, going 1-1 against Brown and 1-0 against Penn after beating the Quakers 58-43 back on Dec. 5. The Lady Pirates have never faced Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.
 
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 1-2 at home this season after falling 69-49 to No. 1 South Carolina on Dec. 17, and the Lady Pirates have won 11 of their last 13 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: Tate-DeFreitas 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 132 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 44-42 win over Auburn on Tuesday, the Lady Pirates are 9-17 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). he has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Lady Pirates' first 13 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. So far this season, Cole is third in the MEAC in assists, and her assist/turnover ration is the best in the conference.
 
A Career Day for Hobgood: Redshirt junior forward Tyler Hobgood (Oxford, N.C.) had a career day at Penn, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds against the Quakers — including nine on the offensive end. Through 13 games so far this season, Hobgood is averaging a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game to rank sixth in the MEAC — after averaging 3.5 boards per contest in 21 games last season. She is also third in 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. White 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.