HAMPTON, Va. – Thanks to yet another pressure-filled defensive effort, the Hampton University women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win on Saturday, defeating Delaware State 74-61 at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Lady Pirates (14-11, 10-2 MEAC) remained in first place in the conference.
 
Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the Lady Pirates with 25 points on 10-for-23 shooting, while also grabbing five steals. Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) added 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) added 10 points and five assists.
 
Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) dished out six assists and had six steals.
 
Sophomore guard Georgianna Gilbeaux (Washington, D.C.), redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.), and freshman forward Kaylah Lupoe (Phoenix, Ariz.) each had six rebounds to tie the team high.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 33.7 percent (30-for-89) from the floor and hit six of 27 3-pointers (22.2 percent). Hampton also out-scored Delaware State 44-32 in the paint and turned 38 Hornet turnovers into 34 points.
 
Hampton opened the game on a 12-0 run, a run capped by a 3-point play from Tate-DeFreitas with 15:32 left in the first half. Delaware State's first field goal of the contest didn't come until the 15:17 mark, when Tierra Hawkins converted a layup.
 
The Hornets cut the lead to 12-6, before the Lady Pirates answered with a 10-1 run – taking a 22-7 lead after a fastbreak layup from Tate-DeFreitas.
 
A 3-pointer from White at the 7:46 mark gave Hampton a 30-11 lead.
 
Amber Bogard capped a 7-2 Delaware State run with a fastbreak layup to cut the lead to 32-18, but the Lady Pirates used a 10-2 run to take a 42-20 lead with 1:44 left in the half after a layup from Cole.
 
Hampton led 43-24 at the half. Tate-DeFreitas had 15 points at the break.
 
A jumper from White gave the Lady Pirates a 47-26 lead with 18:42 left in the second half, and at the 11:08 mark, Hampton led 60-42 after a 3-pointer from senior guard Jackie Marshall (Hackensack, N.J.). Delaware State started clawing its way back, as two Bogard free throws kicked off a 12-0 run for the Hornets.
 
Hawkins hit two free throws with 7:25 left to play, cutting Hampton's lead to 60-54.
 
But Jordan ended the run with a jumper at the 5:51 mark, which kicked off a 6-0 spurt that gave Hampton a 66-54 lead after a Tate-DeFreitas jumper with 4:48 left.
 
Bogard hit two free throws with 4:07 left to cut the lead to 66-58, but that was as close as Delaware State would get in the final minutes; a layup from Tate-DeFreitas with 1:44 left gave the Lady Pirates a 74-59 lead en route to their 13th straight win over the Hornets.
 
Delaware State (5-20, 2-10 MEAC) shot 46.2 percent (18-for-39) from the floor, but was just 1-for-6 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc. The Hornets held a 50-40 edge on the glass.
 
Bogard led Delaware State with 24 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will play host to Coppin State on Monday at 5:30 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.