NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team went cold in the last 25 minutes of the game on Saturday afternoon in Echols Hall, falling to Norfolk State 71-66 in overtime for their second conference loss of the season.
 
The Lady Pirates (10-11, 6-2 MEAC) have lost multiple conference games for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The loss also snapped Hampton's 17-game winning streak against Norfolk State.
 
Senior guard Kyani White (Manassas, Va.) and sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.) each had 22 points to lead the Lady Pirates; White went 10-for-18 from the floor in setting a new career high in scoring.
 
Redshirt junior forward Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed a team-high 18 rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 29.4 percent (25-for-85) from the floor – including a combined 10-for-44 (22.7 percent) from the floor in the second half and overtime – while making three of their 12 3-pointers and going 13-for-20 (65.0 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Kayla Roberts gave Norfolk State a 59-55 lead with 4:42 left in regulation after sinking a layup, before jumpers from White and Tate-DeFreitas tied the game at 59-59 with 2:43 remaining. Roberts gave the lead back to the Spartans on the next possession, but White tied the game at 61-61 with a jumper with 1:45 left in the second half.
 
A layup from Ward with 1:05 left tied the game at 63-63, and Tate-DeFreitas tied the game at 65-65 with 28 seconds left in regulation with a jumper.
 
Ward had a chance to win the game in regulation, as she was fouled upon grabbing an offensive rebound with three seconds left, but the front end of a one-and-one missed, forcing the extra five minutes.
 
Norfolk State outscored Hampton 6-1 in the overtime session, taking a 67-66 lead with 3:01 left after a layup from Roberts. It was the only field goal for the Spartans in overtime; they used free throws the rest of the way to clinch the win.
 
The beginning of the game was a vastly different story, as the Lady Pirates opened the contest with a 9-0 run, taking that lead at the 18:16 mark after a 3-pointer from White. White later added a jumper at the 14:03 mark to put the Lady Pirates up 17-10.
 
Hampton led by as many as 10 on four different occasions in the first half, including a 34-24 lead with 4:17 left in the frame after a jumper from Tate-DeFreitas. Norfolk State scored the next eight points, cutting the lead to 34-32 with 1:08 left after a layup from Amber Brown.
 
In fact, the Spartans cut the lead to 36-35 with 17 seconds left, but a jumper from White 11 seconds later sent the Lady Pirates into the half with a 38-35 lead.
 
Tate-DeFreitas had 13 points at the break, while White had 12 points.
 
A 5-0 spurt to open the second half gave the Lady Pirates a 42-35 lead with 18:28 left in regulation, before the Spartans went on a 14-2 run to take a 49-44 lead with 11:59 remaining following a jumper from Brown.
 
Hampton answered with a 10-3 run, taking a 54-52 lead with 8:18 left in the second half after a free throw from junior guard Ryan Jordan (Manassas, Va.).
 
The Spartans scored the next five points to take a 57-54 lead with 6:46 left in the second half.
 
Norfolk State (7-13, 6-3 MEAC) shot 36.9 percent (24-for-65) from the floor and hit six of their 13 3-pointers (46.2 percent). The Spartans also held a 56-51 edge on the glass.
 
Roberts led the Spartans with 26 points and 25 rebounds.
 
The Lady Pirates will return home on Saturday, Feb. 7, to take on Maryland Eastern Shore at 4 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.