FORT MYERS, Fl. – Senior Malia Tate-DeFreitas had 29 points and seven assists, while junior Monnazjea Finney-Smith added 17 and eight rebounds as Hampton used strong runs to close the third and fourth quarters to defeat Samford 63-57 on Friday in the Florida Gulf Coast Classic.
 
Hampton (6-7) opened the first quarter scoring six of the first seven points with a Tate-DeFreitas jumper putting them up 6-1 with eight minutes left.  Samford (6-8) went on a 14-2 run with four 3-pointers as Hannah Nichols drained a long ball to go up 15-8 with 3:24 left in the opening quarter.  Buckets by Mikayla Sayle and Tate-DeFreitas brought Hampton to 15-12 after one.
 
In the second, Samford opened a 20-14 lead as Katie Allen drained a 3-pointer with 7:43 left in the half.  Hampton pulled within two on three occasions as a 3-pointer from Jephany Brown got the Lady Pirates to 25-23 at the half.
 
The third period saw three ties and three lead changes as Tate-DeFreitas scored the first five points for Hampton to take a 28-25 lead with 6:50 left in the quarter.  Samford responded with a flurry to lead 35-33 with a Hannah Nichols layup with 3:03 left.  The Lady Pirates closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead as Finney-Smith drained a 3-ball to lead 40-35 with 53 seconds left.
 
A pair of Nichols 3-pointers sandwiched free throws by Tate-DeFreitas to start the fourth as Samford trimmed the deficit to 42-41 with 8:13 left.  The Bulldogs took what turned into their last lead on a Brittany Stevens layup with 7:33 left to lead 43-42.  Samford tied the score twice over the next three minutes, but five straight points from Finney-Smith gave Hampton a 52-47 lead with 4:02 left. 
 
Tate-DeFreitas scored eight of the last 11 points for Hampton including four free throws in the final 25 seconds to help ice the win.
 
Hampton shot 23-of-53 from the floor (43.4), 6-of-18 from 3-point range (33.3%) and 11-of-14 from the foul line (78.6%).  Tate-DeFreitas and Finney-Smith recorded season highs in points as Hampton out-rebounded Samford 34-26 and forced 14 Samford turnovers.  Hampton kept better control of the ball in the second half with only three of its 11 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
 
Samford was paced by Nichols who matched Tate-DeFreitas with 29 points going 11-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-9 from behind the arc.  The Bulldogs were 22-of-49 from the floor (44.9%), 12-of-24 from 3-point land (50%) and 1-of-3 from the line (33.3%).
 
The Lady Pirates now turn their attention to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action starting on January 4 facing pre-season top pick North Carolina A&T at 5 pm in the HU Convocation Center.
 
For more information on Hampton University women's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5906 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.