HAMPTON, Va. – Despite holding a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, the Hampton University women's basketball team fell 68-56 in overtime to James Madison on Sunday in its home opener in the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Lady Pirates fell to 0-6 on the season.
 
Sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe led the Lady Pirates with 18 points and eight rebounds, going 7-for-16 from the floor and hitting all four of her free throws. Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas added 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
 
Tate-DeFreitas passed Jericka Jenkins for seventh on the program's all-time scoring list.
 
Junior guard Georgianna Gilbeaux added a career-high eight points on 3-for-5 shooting.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 36.7 percent (22-for-60) from the floor and made three of their 11 3-pointers (27.3 percent). But Hampton struggled at the free throw line, going 9-for-19 (47.4 percent).
 
Hampton scored 16 points off of 22 JMU turnovers.
 
Hampton led by as many as 14, going up 45-31 with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter after Lupoe capped off a 7-0 run with a layup. Another Lupoe layup at the 7:58 mark gave the Lady Pirates a 47-33 lead. But back-to-back 3-pointers from Ashley Perez put the Dukes on the comeback trail, cutting the lead to 47-39 with 4:35 left in the fourth.
 
Tate-DeFreitas hit a jumper with 3:17 left in regulation to put Hampton up 49-39.
 
Lupoe added another layup with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter to give the Lady Pirates a 51-44 lead. But that wound up being Hampton's last field goal of the contest, and JMU closed the fourth quarter on an 8-1 run, tying the game at 52-52 on a Perez layup with seven seconds remaining.
 
Hampton had four free throws in the final 20 seconds of regulation, missing them all.
 
JMU outscored Hampton 16-4 in the extra frame, with all four of the Lady Pirates' points coming from the free throw line.
 
The two teams played to a 13-13 stalemate after one quarter of play, and the Lady Pirates jumped out to a 22-17 lead at the 4:13 mark of the second quarter after a 3-pointer from freshman guard K'lynn Willis. In a half where points were at a premium, Lupoe gave Hampton a 24-19 lead with a layup at the 2:38 mark.
 
But Jazmon Gwathmey cut the lead to 24-21 with 26 seconds left in the half with a jumper, and that was the lead the Lady Pirates took into the intermission.
 
Hampton led throughout the third quarter, responding to Gwathmey's jumper to open the quarter with a 6-0 spurt – taking a 30-23 lead at the 7:17 mark following a layup from Tate-DeFreitas. Hampton's first double-digit lead came at the 3:57 mark, after a Gilbeaux free throw gave the Lady Pirates a 36-26 lead.
 
Sophomore forward Mikayla Sayle gave Hampton a 38-27 lead with two free throws at the 2:48 mark.
 
The Lady Pirates led 39-31 after three quarters.
 
JMU (4-1) shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) from the floor and hit seven of 20 3-pointers (35.0 percent). Six of those seven shots from distance came after the half.
 
The Dukes also held a 48-33 edge in rebounding.
 
Perez led the Dukes with 22 points, while Gwalthmey added 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates will play host to Drexel on Saturday 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.hamptonpirates.com.