Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will return to the HU Convocation Center on Sunday for its last game before the holiday, as the Lady Pirates square off against Lehigh at 3 p.m.
 
Live Stats: Click here.
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM.
Live Video: Pirates Sports Network.
 
Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (1-8) fell 86-48 at No. 2/2 South Carolina on Wednesday. Malia Tate-DeFreitas scored 14 points to lead Hampton, lifting herself into sixth place on the program's all-time scoring list. Ryan Jordan added a season-high nine points, while Kaylah Lupoe added seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Series: Hampton is 0-1 against Lehigh following last season's 85-67 loss in Bethlehem, Pa. That was the first-ever meeting between the two schools, and this year's meeting will mark the first time that the Mountain Hawks have visited Hampton, Va.
 
Scouting the Mountain Hawks: Lehigh (6-4), in its 21st season under head coach Sue Troyan, has lost four straight games after starting the season 6-0; the Mountain Hawks fell 61-60 in overtime to Rider on Thursday. Senior forward Kerry Kinek leads three players in double figures with 15.4 points a game, while Junior forward Lexi Martins, who was named Preseason All-Patriot League, is averaging 15.3 points and 15.3 boards a contest.
 
Against the Patriot League: Hampton is 3-5 all-time against schools currently in the Patriot League, going 1-1 against American, 1-0 against Army, 1-3 against Bucknell, and 0-1 against Lehigh. Hampton has never faced Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Loyola (Md.), Lafayette, or Navy.
 
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 86-48 loss at South Carolina on Wednesday, the Lady Pirates are 9-23 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.
 
Lady Pirates at Home: The Lady Pirates were 8-3 at the HU Convocation Center last season, ending the campaign by winning their last seven home games. In six-plus seasons under head coach David Six, the Lady Pirates are a combined 60-12 at home — including a perfect 12-0 mark in 2012-13. In fact, Hampton was 32-2 at home from 2011-12 through the 2013-14 seasons, and before a loss to American on Dec. 4, 2013, Hampton had won 16 straight home games.
 
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 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: Nine games into the 2015-16 season, Tate-DeFreitas is sixth on the Lady Pirates' all-time scoring list with 1,441 career points — after just two-plus seasons of play. The reigning MEAC Player of the Year is averaging 19.5 points in 74 career games thus far, and she is 11 points shy of fifth on the list (Wendy Goodwin, 1990-94, scored 1,452 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: 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. So far this season, Lupoe is averaging a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game.
 
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.