Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team, the No. 3 seed, will take on No. 11 seed Howard in the quarterfinals of the 2016 MEAC Tournament on Thursday at 12 p.m. in the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
Live Stats: Click here.
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM.
Live Video: ESPN3.
 
At Stake: A spot in Friday's semifinal round against either No. 7 Florida A&M or No. 2 North Carolina A&T.
 
Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (13-16) lost its regular season finale, 71-66 at Norfolk State, this past Thursday. Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas dropped a game-high 29 points on 11-for-30 shooting – on top of grabbing nine rebounds and four steals. Sophomore forward Kaylah Lupoe added nine points, while sophomore forward Mikayla Sayle came off the bench to add nine points and nine rebounds.
 
The Series: The Lady Pirates are 32-21 against Howard all-time, and Hampton has won 16 of the last 17 meetings after splitting both regular-season meetings (an 83-77 overtime loss in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 8 and a 77-48 win at the Convocation Center on Feb. 27).
    
Scouting the Bison: Howard (7-23), in its first season under head coach Ty Grace, is coming off a 68-51 first-round win over UMES on Monday. Senior forward Victoria Gonzales, a First Team All-MEAC selection, leads the Bison in both points (19.6) and rebounds (8.9) per game. Senior guard Imani Bailey is averaging 15.4 points per contest.
 
Lady Pirates Against the MEAC: Hampton is 337-146 against teams currently in the MEAC — including a 32-21 mark against Howard — and the Hampton has won eight MEAC regular-season titles to go along with eight tournament titles, including five of the last six.
 
Lady Pirates on Neutral Courts: The Lady Pirates are 2-0 on neutral courts this season, boasting wins over both Wake Forest and Rhode Island to win the FIU Surfing Santa Classic back on Dec. 28-29. Overall, Hampton is 26-11 on neutral courts under head coach David Six, including 15 wins in the MEAC Tournament over that span. Heading into the 2016 MEAC Tournament, the Lady Pirates boast a 15-1 record in conference tournament games during Six's tenure.
   
Picked to Finish Second: Hampton has 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. The Lady Pirates were regular-season champions for the fifth straight year last season after going 14-2 in league play. For the second straight season, North Carolina A&T was chosen to win the MEAC.
 
Postseason Honors: After being named the MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2013-14, Tate-DeFreitas has been named the conference's Player of the Year each of the past two seasons. This season, she leads the MEAC and ranks 14th in the nation in scoring, averaging 21.4 points per game. Her 2.6 steals per contest are 28th-best among all Div. I players, and she ranks second in the conference in that category. Tate-DeFreitas has five 30-point games so far this season, and she was a six-time MEAC Player of the Week during the regular season. In addition, Lupoe was a Third Team All-MEAC selection and freshman guard K'lynn Willis was named to the All-Rookie Team.
 
Tate-DeFreitas Moving on Up: Through the 2015-16 regular season, Tate-DeFreitas is third on the Lady Pirates' all-time scoring list with 1,897 career points — after just two-plus seasons of play. The two-time MEAC Player of the Year is averaging 20.2 points in 94 career games thus far, and she is 70 points shy of second on the list (LaShondra Dixon-Gordon, 1999-2003, 1,967 career points). Jackie Dolberry (1985-89) is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,727 career points. LaShondra Dixon-Gordon (1999-2003) is the program's all-time Div. I leading scorer, ranking second overall with 1,967 career points.
 
Lupoe Coming Along: Lupoe was a force to be reckoned with in the closing stages of the 2014-15 season. Averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game for the year, Lupoe upped those averages to 14.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over the last seven games of the regular season. She had three double-doubles during that stretch, including a 20-point, 13-rebound effort at Howard and a 25-point, 11-rebound game at Delaware State. Lupoe ended the regular season with three straight 20-point games, and she started in four of Hampton's last five games. During that seven game span, the team averaged over 78 points per game. Lupoe, a Third Team All-MEAC selection, is averaging 10.4 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
All They Do is Win: The Lady Pirates come into the 2015-16 season with the second-highest winning percentage among all Div. I women's basketball programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In Six's first six years at the helm, the Lady Pirates were 146-48 overall (a .753 winning percentage), behind only James Madison in terms of winning percentage. Hampton has won at least 20 games in five of Six's first six seasons, and the Lady Pirates won 19 games last season.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense: Defense has been a staple of the Lady Pirates during Six's tenure. The MEAC Defensive Player of the Year award has gone to a Hampton player four times in the last six seasons, and in each of those six seasons, the Lady Pirates have ranked top 50 nationally in scoring defense. Hampton led all Div. I teams in scoring defense in 2012-13, holding opponents to 47.8 points per game. In 2011-12, Hampton was second in the nation, behind UConn, in scoring defense, giving up 47.6 points per game. This past season, Hampton was 50th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 58.5 points per game. In addition, the Lady Pirates were seventh in the nation in steals last season, averaging 11.4 per game.
 
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.