Game Notes

EVANSTON, Ill. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will open the 2014-15 season with three straight on the road, starting Sunday afternoon against Northwestern at 3 p.m. EST at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
 
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The Opponent: The Wildcats return all five starters from a squad that went 17-16 last season, finishing tied for eighth in the Big Ten with a mark of 5-11. In all, Northwestern returns 11 letterwinners from 2013-14, along with welcoming four newcomers. Joe McKeown is in his seventh season at the helm for Northwestern. Nia Coffey led the Wildcats in points (15.3) and rebounds (8.1) last season, and Ashley Dreary led in assists (6.1). Northwestern opened its season on Friday with a 102-48 win at Chicago State.
 
The Series: Northwestern is 1-0 all-time against the Lady Pirates, with that meeting taking place on Dec. 29, 2003, when Northwestern won 58-45 on a neutral court.
 
Lady Pirates Against the Big Ten: Hampton is 0-5 all-time against teams currently in the Big Ten, having lost games against Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin. The Lady Pirates' last game against a Big Ten foe came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament against Michigan State.
 
Lady Pirates on the Road: The Lady Pirates were 10-3 in true road games last season, and they closed the 2013-14 campaign with eight straight wins on the road. Hampton is 53-18 in road games under head coach David Six, and the Lady Pirates have won at least 10 road games in each of the last four seasons — including a 13-1 mark in true road games in 2012-13.
 
Lady Pirates 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. North Carolina A&T, the 2013-14 MEAC runners-up, were chosen to win the conference this season.
 
Tate-DeFreitas, Cole Honored: Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, while senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC. It was yet another honor for Tate-DeFreitas, the 2013-14 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-MEAC selection, VaSID Rookie of the Year, and VaSID Second Team All-State selection.
 
Six Chasing History: In five seasons with the Lady Pirates, head coach David Six has won 127 games, tied for the most in program Div. I history with Patricia Cage-Bibbs. Six's next win will make him the program's all-time winningest Div. I coach.
 
Lady Pirates Against Power Conferences: In Six's five seasons at the helm, the Lady Pirates have enjoyed success against the six so-called "power conferences:" the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-12, and SEC. After a 91-61 loss to Michigan State on March 23, the Lady Pirates are 8-12 against teams in these six conferences — including a 2-3 mark last season after defeating Virginia Tech 70-60 on Jan. 1.
 
Tate-DeFreitas a Scoring Machine: Tate-DeFreitas was named an All-American by Parade magazine following her senior year of high school. She averaged 29 points per game as a senior in high school, and she became just the ninth player in Pennsylvania state history — male or female — to score at least 3,000 career points. The three-time AP Class A Player of the Year finished her high school career as Steelton-Highspire's all-time leading scorer, regardless of gender. The MEAC Rookie of the Year had 15 points, six rebounds, and four steals in her collegiate debut against Saint Peter's, and she led the team in scoring (and ranked fourth in the MEAC) with 18.1 points a game, and she had monster performances against Utah State (career-high 36 points), Norfolk State (33 points), Delaware State (29 points), and South Carolina State (27 points).
 
Ward Crashed the Glass: The Lady Pirates played 33 games in 2013-14, and in 13 of those games, forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed double-digit rebounds — including a school-record 23 against Virginia Tech on Jan. 1. She was second on the team with 8.3 rebounds per game (fourth in the MEAC), and she pulled down 11 boards in a loss at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 26. She also grabbed 15 rebounds against North Carolina A&T, 13 rebounds at Drexel on Dec. 18, as well as 12 each against Kansas State and Delaware State. She was key in the Lady Pirates' MEAC Tournament championship game against Coppin State, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 10 points for her lone double-double of the season.
 
Cole Heated Up: In her last 21 games of 2013-14, Cole averaged 13.0 points per contest — including her career-best 30-point effort against Virginia Tech on Jan. 1. Cole also had 19 points against Brown on Dec. 29, and in her last 21 games, Cole is 49-for-125 (.392) from 3-point range — and 83-for-210 (.395) from the floor.
 
Loaded With Transfers: Of the seven newcomers currently on the Lady Pirates roster, four of them come from other Div. I schools. Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) transferred over from East Carolina, while junior guard Kristine Rose (Miramar, Fla.) comes over from Xavier and redshirt-junior forward Lindsay Williams (Bowie, Md.) was at Mount St. Mary's before heading to Anne Arundel Community College. In addition, senior guard Jackie Marshall (Hackensack, N.J.) played at Iona.
 
All They Do is Win: The Lady Pirates came into the 2014-15 season with the best winning percentage among all Div. I programs in the commonwealth of Virginia, sitting at .784 (127-35) Six's first five years at the helm. Hampton has won 20 games or more in each of Six's five seasons and were on an 18-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in the nation, prior to their NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan 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.