PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – After 10 minutes Saturday afternoon in the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center, the Hampton University women's basketball team found itself trailing Maryland Eastern Shore by two. But after the second quarter, the Lady Pirates were well on their way to a 76-55 win.
 
The Lady Pirates (10-12, 8-1 MEAC) won their sixth straight game.
 
Junior guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas had her third 30-point game of the season, leading the Lady Pirates with 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting (and a 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc). She also had a team-high eight rebounds and four steals.
 
Freshman guard K'lynn Willis added a career-high 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting and dished out a career-high five assists. Willis, who recorded her first career 20-point game, has scored in double figures in six of her last seven games.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 50.9 percent (27-for-53) from the floor – including a 57.1 percent clip (16-for-28) in the first half – while hitting six of their 15 3-pointers (40.0 percent). Hampton, which held a 10-1 edge in steals, also went 16-for-22 (72.7 percent) from the free throw line.
 
UMES led 15-13 after the first quarter, and a Te'Amber Burke layup with 9:03 left in the second quarter gave the Hawks a 17-13 lead. But Tate-DeFreitas answered with a three at the 8:34 mark, kicking off a 28-5 run that saw Hamptpon take a 41-22 lead after a Willis layup at the 1:49 mark.
 
Areana Davis hit a jumper with 38 seconds left in the half, sending the Lady Pirates into the half with a 45-28 lead.
 
In all, Hampton outscored UMES 32-13 in the second quarter, notching their highest point total for a quarter this season. Tate-DeFreitas, the reigning MEAC Co-Player of the Week, had a game-high 19 points at the break.
 
Taylor Thompson cut the lead to 51-35 at the 5:13 mark of the third quarter, before a 6-2 Hampton spurt put the Lady Pirates up 57-37 with 2:41 left in the frame following a jumper from Willis.
 
Tate-DeFreitas gave Hampton a 59-40 lead after the third quarter, and the Lady Pirates tacked on eight more points once the fourth quarter started – a layup and jumper from Willis, and two layups from Tate-DeFrietas – to take a 67-40 lead with 7:43 left to play.
 
Hampton's largest lead came with 2:41 remaining, when Tate-DeFreitas hit a pair of free throws to put the Lady Pirates up 76-47.
 
UMES (6-15, 4-5 MEAC) shot just 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the floor and hit only two of its 12 3-pointers (16.7 percent). The Hawks did out-rebound Hampton, to the tune of 38-32.
 
Ciani Byrom led the Hawks with 18 points.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Washington, D.C. on Monday to take on Howard at 6 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.