NORFOLK, Va. – Despite leading by five after three quarters, the Hampton University women's basketball team fell 63-54 to No. 2 seed North Carolina A&T in the semifinals of the 2016 MEAC Tournament at Norfolk Scope Arena on Friday.
 
The third-seeded Lady Pirates fell to 14-17 on the season.
 
Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas, the two-time reigning MEAC Player of the Year, led all scorers with 27 points. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. She was the only Hampton player in double figures.
 
"I thought we got off to a great start," head coach David Six said, "but the fouls began to mount, and when that happens, it takes away some of your aggressiveness. We had some people playing out position, and I think (the Aggies) capitalized on that, and I think that was the difference of the game."
 
The Lady Pirates shot 30.2 percent (19-for-63) from the floor and went 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from behind the arc. Hampton was 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Hampton led 18-9 after the first quarter, with Tate-DeFreitas accounting for 12 of those points. Dana Brown had cut the lead to four with a three with 1:42 left in the quarter, but Tate-DeFreitas hit a three and senior guard Areana Davis sank a tip-in at the buzzer to extend the lead.
 
But the Aggies bounced back in the second quarter, scoring the first eight points of the frame to cut the lead to 18-17 after another Brown three. Tate-DeFreitas responded with back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 22-17, before the Aggies went on a 7-0 run.
 
A&T took a 24-22 lead with 2:10 left in the half after an Aprill McRae jumper.
 
The Aggies appeared to be heading into the half with a lead, going up 26-25 with 15 seconds left after a McRae layup, but a jumper from Davis at the horn sent the Lady Pirates into the break with a 27-26 lead.

Tate-DeFreitas had 19 points at the break.
 
A 7-2 Hampton spurt opened the third quarter, giving the Lady Pirates a 34-28 lead with 6:07 left in the frame after another Tate-DeFreitas layup. Senior guard Kristine Rose later hit two free throws to put Hampton up 38-32 with 4:26 left.
 
Freshman guard Dejane' James converted a 3-point play with 2:05 left in the quarter, giving Hampton a 41-34 lead, before the Aggies cut the lead to 41-36 on a Kenya Hailey jumper.
 
That was A&T's only field goal of the quarter.
 
McRae scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, and her free throws with 4:19 left to play gave the Aggies a 50-44 lead. Brown added two free throws of her own with 3:44 remaining, giving A&T a 52-46 lead.
 
But Hampton scored the next five points, cutting the lead to 52-51 after a free throw from sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe with 1:46 remaining.
 
But A&T – which hit its last field goal at the 5:05 mark – scored its last 15 points from the free throw line.
 
The Aggies (18-11) shot 32.7 percent (16-for-49) from the floor and hit three of their nine 3-pointers. North Carolina A&T also hit 28 of its 38 free throws and out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 42-37.
 
McRae led the Aggies with 25 points, while Brown added 20.
 
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.