EVANSTON, Ill. – Sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas recorded her first career double-double on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the Hampton University women's basketball team struggled on offense in a 62-36 loss to Northwestern.
 
The Lady Pirates (0-1) shot just 14.1 percent (10-for-71) from the floor.
 
Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. She hit seven of her 27 shots, went 3-for-10 from 3-point range, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
Redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed eight rebounds.
 
Neither team got much going on offense in the opening minutes, as Northwestern (2-0) held a 7-5 lead with 14:29 left in the frame. A 3-point play from Tate-DeFreitas at the 7:15 mark cut that lead to 11-8, and Tate-DeFreitas added a jumper at the 4:24 mark to cut the Wildcats' lead to 14-10.
 
But those would be Hampton's last points of the half, as Northwestern closed the frame by scoring 13 unanswered points. The Wildcats led 27-10 at the half.
 
Senior guard Kenia Cole (Silver Spring, Md.) hit a free throw with 18:10 left to play, cutting Northwestern's lead to 31-15. But the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to take a 39-17 lead.
 
Tate-DeFreitas hit two free throws with 11:16 left to cut the lead to 39-21, capping off a 4-0 spurt for the Lady Pirates. Junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.) later capped a run of seven straight Hampton points with a free throw at the 9:49 mark, cutting the lead to 42-28.
 
Cole added two free throws with 9:21 to play to cut Northwestern's lead to 43-30.
 
The Wildcats answered by putting the game out of reach with a 13-2 run, taking a 56-32 lead with 4:33 left after a layup from Karly Roser.
 
The Lady Pirates out-rebounded Northwestern 48-45 and forced the Wildcats into 18 turnovers – resulting in 15 points.
 
Nia Coffey led Northwestern with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Hamden, Conn. on Tuesday to take on Quinnipiac at 5 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.