Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will wrap up a three-game homestand on Saturday, as the Lady Pirates take on Norfolk State at 4 p.m. in the HU Convocation Center.

Both Hampton and Norfolk State SAAC will host a penny drive to raise money for the family of Amber Brown, the Norfolk State women's basketball player who had fallen into a coma earlier this month. Red ribbons will also be distributed for Diabetes Awareness. Checks can be made out to Norfolk State University Athletic Foundation, with "Amber Brown" in the memo line.
 
Live Stats: Click here.
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM.
Live Video: Pirates Sports Network.
 
Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (8-12, 6-1 MEAC) defeated South Carolina State 63-50 on Monday for their fourth straight win. Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas recorded her second straight double-double, pouring in 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She was 10-for-18 from the floor, hit four 3-pointers, and had four steals.
 
The Series: The Lady Pirates are 54-33 against Norfolk State, and Hampton has won 18 of the last 19 meetings between the two teams. Hampton is 24-12 against Norfolk State at home.
 
Scouting the Spartans: Norfolk State (0-18, 0-8 MEAC), now under the direction of interim head coach Larry Vickers, has yet to win a game this season after a 68-53 loss to Savannah State on Monday. Redshirt senior forward Siobhan Beslow is the team's leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game, along with 9.6 rebounds per contest, and sophomore forward Kayla Roberts is averaging 10.3 points per game.
 
Lady Pirates Against the MEAC: Hampton is 333-142 against teams currently in the MEAC — including a 54-33 mark against Norfolk State — 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 at Home: The Lady Pirates were 8-3 at the HU Convocation Center last season, ending the campaign by winning their last seven home games. In six-plus seasons under head coach David Six, the Lady Pirates are a combined 63-14 at home after a 63-50 win over South Carolina State on Monday — including a perfect 12-0 mark in 2012-13. In fact, Hampton was 32-2 at home from 2011-12 through the 2013-14 seasons, and before a loss to American on Dec. 4, 2013, Hampton had won 16 straight home games.
  
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 has been chosen to win the MEAC.
 
Preseason Honors: Tate-DeFreitas was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, after earning the conference's top individual honor a season ago, and senior guard Ryan Jordan was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC. The preseason teams were voted on by the MEAC's head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Tate-DeFreitas Moving on Up: Twenty games into the 2015-16 season, Tate-DeFreitas is fourth on the Lady Pirates' all-time scoring list with 1,668 career points — after just two-plus seasons of play. The reigning MEAC Player of the Year is averaging 19.6 points in 85 career games thus far, and she is 127 points shy of third on the list (Anita Cooper, 1982-86, 1,795 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: Sophomore forward Kaylah 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 is averaging 10.1 points and a team-best 7.7 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 are 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.