Game Notes

AUSTIN, Texas – The Hampton University women's basketball team's season-opening road trip concludes Wednesday evening at the Erwin Center, as the Lady Pirates square off against No. 8/8 Texas at 8 p.m. EST.
 
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Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (0-4) fell 78-54 at UTEP this past Sunday, despite 18 points from junior guard Malia Tate-DeFretias, who moved to ninth on the school's all-time career scoring list.
 
The Series: Hampton is 0-1 against Texas after a 90-46 loss in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
 
Scouting Texas: Texas, in its fourth season under head coach Karen Alston, is coming off a 70-47 win at Rice this past Saturday to remain undefeated so far this season. The Longhorns are ranked No. 8 in both national polls and have three players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Brooke McCarty's 16.0 points per game. Imani Boyette is averaging a team-high 9.3 rebounds a contest to go along with 13.3 points a game.
 
Against the Big XII: Hampton is 2-6 all-time against schools currently in the Big XII. The Lady Pirates are 0-2 against Iowa State (including a 95-59 loss to open the season), 1-1 against Kansas, 1-1 against Kansas State, 0-1 against Texas, and 0-1 against West Virginia. Hampton has never faced Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, or Texas Tech.
 
Against "Power Conferences": In David Six's six-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 an 86-51 loss at Oregon on Nov. 19, the Lady Pirates are 9-21 against teams in these six conferences — including a 1-6 mark against such teams in the 2014-15 season. During Six's tenure, Hampton boasts wins over LSU, Florida, Boston College, Pitt, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, and Auburn — and the Lady Pirates took Kentucky to overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March 2011. This season, Hampton will face the likes of Iowa State, Washington State, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, and Wake Forest.
 
Road Warriors: The Lady Pirates were 9-9 in true road games last season, marking the first time since the 2009-10 season they did not post a winning record on the road. In their first six-plus seasons under Six, the Lady Pirates are a combined 62-31 in road games after this past Sunday's 78-54 loss at UTEP. In 2012-13, Hampton was 13-1 on the road, and from 2010-11 through 2013-14 — a span of four seasons — Hampton was a combined 47-11 on the road.
 
On the Road Again: In a five-game road stretch to open the 2015-16 season, the Lady Pirates are racking up the frequent flyer miles. In total, Hampton will be traveling  6,953 miles, crossing over all three times zones in the process. Ames, Iowa was the first stop of the trip this past Friday, before the Lady Pirates continued westward to Pullman, Wash. to take on Washington State this past Monday. Eugene, Ore. was the next stop for the Lady Pirates. Following Thursday's game at Oregon, Hampton was Texas-bound, taking on UTEP in El Paso this past Sunday and then heading to Austin for a match-up against nationally-ranked Texas on Wednesday.
 
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. The Lady Pirates were regular-season champions for the fifth straight year last season after going 14-2 in league play. For the second straight season, North Carolina A&T has been chosen to win the MEAC.
 
Preseason Honors: Tate-DeFreitas was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, after earning the conference's top individual honor a season ago, and senior guard Ryan Jordan was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC. The preseason teams were voted on by the MEAC's head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Tate-DeFreitas Moving on Up: Four games into the 2015-16 season, Tate-DeFreitas is ninth on the Lady Pirates' all-time scoring list with 1,354 career points — after just two-plus seasons of play. The reigning MEAC Player of the Year is averaging 19.6 points in 69 career games thus far, and she is 19 points shy of eighth on the list (Nicole Brathwaite, 2000-04, scored 1,373 career points). Jackie Dolberry (1985-89) is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,727 career points. LaShondra Dixon-Gordon (1999-2003) is the program's all-time Div. I leading scorer, ranking second overall with 1,967 career points.
 
Jordan Third Team Last Year: Jordan was selected Third Team All-MEAC by the league's head coaches and sports information directors last season, in large part because she tied for sixth in the MEAC in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.0 per game. Jordan was second on the team in rebounds with 5.9 per contest, and she had a double-double at South Carolina State on Jan. 26, scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing 12 boards. She had a career-high 14 rebounds at DePaul on Dec. 22, 2014. She also had 19 points and nine rebounds in Hampton's WNIT first-round win at Drexel. Jordan was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC heading into this season.
 
Lupoe Coming Along: Sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe was a force to be reckoned with in the closing stages of the 2014-15 season. Averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game for the year, Lupoe upped those averages to 14.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over the last seven games of the regular season. She had three double-doubles during that stretch, including a 20-point, 13-rebound effort at Howard and a 25-point, 11-rebound game at Delaware State. Lupoe ended the regular season with three straight 20-point games, and she started in four of Hampton's last five games. During that seven game span, the team averaged over 78 points per game. She had 13 points and eight rebounds at Washington State on Nov. 19.
 
All They Do is Win: The Lady Pirates come into the 2015-16 season with the second-highest winning percentage among all Div. I women's basketball programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In Six's first six years at the helm, the Lady Pirates are 146-48 overall (a .753 winning percentage), behind only James Madison in terms of winning percentage. Hampton has won at least 20 games in five of Six's first six seasons, and the Lady Pirates won 19 games last season.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense: Defense has been a staple of the Lady Pirates during Six's tenure. The MEAC Defensive Player of the Year award has gone to a Hampton player four times in the last six seasons, and in each of those six seasons, the Lady Pirates have ranked top 50 nationally in scoring defense. Hampton led all Div. I teams in scoring defense in 2012-13, holding opponents to 47.8 points per game. In 2011-12, Hampton was second in the nation, behind UConn, in scoring defense, giving up 47.6 points per game. This past season, Hampton was 50th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 58.5 points per game. In addition, the Lady Pirates were seventh in the nation in steals last season, averaging 11.4 per game.
 
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.