Game Notes

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will open the Postseason WNIT on Thursday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, taking on the Dragons of Drexel University at 7 p.m. in first-round action.
 
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Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (18-12) fell 52-50 in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament on March 11, snapping both an eight-game winning streak and the team's streak of five straight conference tournament titles. Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) led the Lady Pirates with 11 points, while senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) and junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) each added 10 points.
 
The Opponent: Drexel (20-10), in its 12th season under head coach Denise Dillon, fell 55-48 in the CAA quarterfinals to Delaware on Friday to snap a six-game winning streak. Sarah Curran, a First Team All-CAA selection, leads the team in scoring 12.2 points a game. Third Team All-CAA honoree Rachel Pearson averages 11.1 points a game. Jamila Thompson leads in rebounding, 4.9 per game.
   
The Series: The Lady Pirates are 1-0 all-time against Drexel; the two teams met on Dec. 18 of last season in Philadelphia, Pa., where Hampton erased a 14-point halftime deficit to take a 50-47 win.
  
Lady Pirates Against the CAA: Hampton is 15-16 all-time against teams currently in the CAA. The Lady Pirates are 1-0 against Charleston; 1-0 against Drexel; 1-0 against Elon; 1-2 against James Madison; 0-1 against Towson; 1-2 against UNC Wilmington; and 10-11 against William & Mary. Hampton has never faced Delaware, Hofstra, or Northeastern.
    
Lady Pirates on the Road: The Lady Pirates were 10-3 in true road games last season, and they closed the 2013-14 campaign with eight straight wins in true road contests. Hampton is 61-26 in road games under head coach David Six after a 78-63 win at Delaware State back on March 2, and heading into the 2014-15 campaign, the Lady Pirates have won at least 10 road games in each of the last four seasons.
    
Lady Pirates Picked to Finish Second: Hampton had 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. Hampton won its fifth straight MEAC regular-season title, while Savannah State came in second and North Carolina A&T came in third.
 
Tate-DeFreitas, Cole Honored: Tate-DeFreitas was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, while Cole 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 145 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 Dec. 30, the Lady Pirates are 9-17 against teams in these six conferences — including a 2-3 mark last season.
 
Tate-DeFreitas MEAC Player of the Year: After being named the MEAC Rookie of the Year last season, Tate-DeFreitas has been named the MEAC Player of the Year. She is the second Hampton player in the last three years to be given the honor (Keiara Avant, 2012-13), and Tate-DeFretias leads the MEAC in scoring — and ranks 12th in the nation — with 21.6 points per contest. The five-time MEAC Player of the Week has scored 20 or more points in nine of her last 11 games, including a career-high 39 at Howard on Feb. 28. Tate-DeFreitas eclipsed the 1,000-point mark  for her career on Jan. 26 with a 37-point effort at South Carolina State, becoming the 26th player in program history to reach that milestone.
 
Ward Crashed the Glass: The Lady Pirates played 33 games in 2013-14, and in 13 of those games, redshirt junior 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 Dishing it Out: Cole, who was a Preseason Third Team All-MEAC selection, currently leads the MEAC in assist/turnover ratio and ranks second in assists. 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.
 
Jordan Named Third Team All-MEAC: Jordan was selected Third Team All-MEAC by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, in large part because she ranks seventh in the MEAC in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.0 per game. Jordan is 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.
  
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, senior guard Jackie Marshall (Hackensack, N.J.) 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.