HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team bounced back on Monday at the HU Convocation Center, defeating Morgan State 60-47 to reclaim first place in the MEAC standings.
 
The Lady Pirates (11-13, 9-2 MEAC) have won 12 straight over the Bears.
 
Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas was the only Lady Pirate in double figures, pouring in 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting and grabbing five steals. She scored 18 of those points in the first half, and Tate-DeFreitas is 12 points shy of third place on the program's all-time scoring list.
 
Freshman guard K'lynn Willis added nine points, while sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe poured in eight points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 33.3 percent (18-for-54) from the floor, hitting two of their 11 3-pointers and going 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton also turned 35 Morgan State turnovers into 31 points.
 
Morgan State jumped out to a 9-0 lead to open the game, as the Lady Pirates first found the scoreboard with 4:29 left in the first quarter following a free throw from sophomore forward Mikayla Sayle. Freshman guard Dejane' James had Hampton's first field goal, a fastbreak layup at the 2:36 mark.
 
The Bears led 14-8 after the first 10 minutes.
 
Lupoe hit two free throws in the opening minute of the second quarter, kicking off a string of nine unanswered points. The run ended with a Tate-DeFreitas layup to tie the game at 14-14 and a three from the junior that gave Hampton a 17-14 lead.
 
In all, Hampton opened the second quarter on a 17-1 run, taking a 25-15 lead after another Tate-DeFreitas trey with 5:33 left. Zuri White cut the lead to 29-22 with a pair of free throws, but the Lady Pirates scored the last seven points of the half, going up 36-22 after Tate-DeFreitas hit two free throws in the closing seconds of the quarter.
 
Morgan State had 21 turnovers in the first half.
 
After the Lady Pirates maintained a double digit lead throughout the third period, they led 47-37 after 30 minutes. But Morgan State scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 47-42 at the 9:01 mark after a pair of Simone Sampson free throws.
 
Hampton scored the next six points to go up 53-42 with 4:37 left after a pair of free throws from junior guard Chanel Green. A 5-0 Bears spurt cut the lead to 53-47 after a Tykyrah Williams layup with 2:37 to play, but a Tate-DeFreitas layup on the ensuing possession quelled the comeback.
 
The Lady Pirates scored the game's last seven points.
 
Morgan State (11-13, 9-3 MEAC) shot just 26.4 percent (14-for-53) from the floor and made six of 17 3pointers (35.3 percent). The Bears also went 13-for-21 from the free throw line and held a 48-37 edge in rebounding.
 
Williams led the Bears with 16 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Baltimore, Md. on Saturday to take on Coppin 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.