HAMPTON RALLIES TO TAME LEOPARDS 58-55
 
SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – Senior Malia Tate-DeFreitas hit two free throws with 5.1 seconds left and blocked a game-tying 3-point attempt as Hampton University rallied from a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Lafayette College 58-55 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge Sunday at the Mass Mutual Center.
 
Hampton (3-4) held the lead for most the first quarter as Lafayette cut the lead to 8-7 on a pair of Olivia Gumbs free throws with 3:28 left in the quarter.   The Lady Pirates went on a 13-1 run over the next nearly eight minutes spanning into the second quarter as a layup from Ashley Bates gave Hampton a 21-8 lead with 5:34 left in the half.
 
A pair of DeJane James free throws with 1:09 left in the half kept Hampton in front 28-16, but the Leopards scored the last four points of the half to trail 28-20 at intermission.
 
Hampton held a 32-22 lead with 5:39 left in the third on a layup from Monnazjea Finney-Smith but turned frigid cold from there.  Lafayette closed the quarter with a 12-3 run as a pair of Sammy Stipa free throws with 37 seconds left in the quarter put the Leopards down 35-34 heading into the fourth.  That run grew in the fourth quarter into a 24-7 stretch as a layup from Alexis Santarelli with 6:19 left put Lafayette up 46-39 for its largest lead of the game.
 
The Lady Pirates turned back up the defense and forced Lafayette into three straight turnovers and converted them all into points as a jumper from Tate-DeFreitas trimmed the deficit to 46-44 with 4:36 left.
 
A 3-pointer from Tate-DeFreitas with 2:21 left tied the game at 50-all.   Tate-DeFreitas had a hand in nine of the last 11 points for Hampton.  A pair of assists on layups by Georgianna Gilbeaux and Jephany Brown, to go with her triple from the left wing got the closing spurt going and game-ending free throws. 
 
Chanel Green hit two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to put Hampton up 56-55.   After a missed free jumper, Tate-DeFreitas was fouled and hit two with 5.1 seconds left to push the lead to 58-55.   Lafayette got a 3-point look by Alex Cantwell but Tate-DeFreitas blocked the shot to seal the win.
 
Earning game Most Valuable Player honors, Tate-DeFreitas ended with 22 points and five assists.  She is now fifth on the all-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference scoring list with 2.066 points as she passed Corin Adams of Morgan State for a spot in the top five.   Brown was the other double figure scorer with season highs in points (10), steals (5) and added seven boards.
 
Hampton will now close its eight-game season-opening road trip with a 7pm tip on December 2 at James Madison University.
 
For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5906 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com