BALTIMORE, Md. – Sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe had a career day offensively on Saturday afternoon at the Physical Education Complex, but Coppin State used a strong fourth quarter to defeat the Hampton University women's basketball team 68-64.
 
The Lady Pirates fell to 11-14 overall and 9-3 in MEAC play.
 
Lupoe scored a career-high 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting, while also grabbing six rebounds and going 3-for-5 from the free throw line. Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
Tate-DeFreitas is now third in program history in career scoring, with 1,800 career points. She is 167 points behind second-place LaShondra Dixon (1,967 points, 1999-2003).
 
The Lady Pirates shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the floor – including a 42.4 percent clip (14-for-33) in the first half – while making just two of 10 3-pointers. Hampton was also 12-for-15 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line and held a 39-35 edge on the glass.
 
Hampton also out-scored the Eagles 40-22 in the paint.
 
The Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead to open the game, but the Lady Pirates answered with 10 straight to take a 10-6 lead after a Lupoe layup. In all, Hampton closed the quarter on a 23-8 run, taking a 23-14 lead after another Lupoe layup with three seconds left in the quarter.
 
That run bled into the second quarter, ballooning to 30-9 after a 3-point play from freshman guard K'lynn Willis at the 7:42 mark gave the Lady Pirates a 30-15 lead.
 
Sophomore forward Mikayla Sayle made it a 32-17 lead with 6:28 left in the first half with a putback, before Coppin State responded with an 11-2 run, cutting the lead to 34-28 at the 3:12 mark after a Jordan Swails layup.
 
Freshman guard Dejane' James scored the next four points to give Hampton a 38-28 lead, and the Lady Pirates went into the locker room with a 38-30 edge.
 
Lupoe had 14 points at the break.
 
A layup from Lupoe with 3:39 left in the third quarter gave the Lady Pirates a 44-36 lead, but Coppin State scored the next five points to cut the lead to 44-41 after a Genesis Lucas 3-pointer.
 
Coppin State twice more cut the lead to three in the quarter, including a pair of Swails free throws with 1:58 left that cut the gap to 48-45, before Tate-DeFreitas gave Hampton a 50-45 lead after 30 minutes when she hit a fastbreak layup.
 
But whereas Hampton out-scored Coppin State 23-14 in the first quarter, the Eagles returned the favor in the fourth. A Lupoe layup with 5:28 remaining gave the Lady Pirates a 59-51 lead, but Coppin State responded with an 11-0 run – taking a 62-59 lead with 2:32 remaining after a jumper from Amber Griffin.
 
Tate-DeFreitas immediately hit a three to tie the game at 62-62, before Griffin answered with a jumper that put the Eagles up 64-62.
 
Coppin State would not relinquish that lead.
 
Coppin State (10-15, 7-6 MEAC) shot 42.9 percent (24-for-56) from the floor, despite hitting just one of seven 3-pointers. The Eagles were also 19-for-25 (76.0 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Griffin and Swails each had 17 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Dover, Del. on Monday to take on Delaware State 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.