HAMPTON, Va. – Three players scored in double figures on Wednesday evening as the Hampton University women's basketball team opened conference play with a 64-57 win over North Carolina A&T at the HU Convocation Center.

The Lady Pirates (7-7, 1-0 MEAC) have won seven of their last 10 games.
 
Preseason MEAC Player of the Year Malia Tate-DeFreitas racked up 20 points – while also dishing out three assists and grabbing three steals. She is now ranked second all-time in the MEAC in scoring, 129 behind Howard's Saadia Doyle.
 
Jephany Brown added a season-high 13 points – going 5-for-5 from the field – and three blocks. Chanel Green had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while also recording three assists and a team- and career-high four steals.
 
The Lady Pirates shot 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the floor, thanks in large part to a 48.3 percent clip in the second half. Hampton racked up 12 steals as a team and turned the Aggies over 24 times – resulting in 27 points.
 
Tate-DeFreitas tied the game at 10-10 with a three with 4:28 left in the first quarter, before the Aggies responded with an 8-2 run to take an 18-12 lead to close out the frame. Kala Green hit a free throw early in the second quarter to give N.C. A&T a 19-12 lead.
 
But the Lady Pirates scored the next six points, cutting the lead to 19-18 at the 7:52 mark after Tate-DeFretias converted a 3-point play. Aliyah Kilpatrick extended the lead to 23-19 at the 4:23 mark with a layup, before Hampton closed the half on a 9-3 run.
 
Ashley Bates' layup with 1:35 left sent Hampton into the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
 
The Lady Pirates outscored the Aggies 16-8 in the second quarter, and Tate-DeFreitas had 13 points at the break.
 
Hampton opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run, taking a 39-28 lead at the 4:37 mark after Green converted a fastbreak layup. Monnazjea Finney-Smith had a fastbreak layup of her own with 2:35 left in the quarter to put the Lady Pirates up 43-32.
 
But the Aggies closed the quarter on a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to 45-42 heading into the final frame.
 
In fact, that run grew to 14-2 early in the fourth, with the Aggies taking a 46-45 lead on a Whitney Martin layup. Finney-Smith answered with a three that put Hampton back on top and triggered a 6-0 spurt – one that ended when Brown put the Lady Pirates up 52-46 with 7:06 remaining.
 
The Aggies cut the lead to one twice, the last with 1:38 left when Charnise Tyler hit a layup to cut the lead to 58-57, before Mikayla Sayle answered with a layup with 1:18 left. That bucket triggered a 6-0 spurt to end the game for the Lady Pirates.
 
N.C. A&T (3-10, 0-1 MEAC) shot 39.3 percent (22-for-56) from the floor but struggled at the free throw line, going just 9-for-18 at the charity stripe. The Aggies held a 48-31 edge on the glass.
 
Kilpatrick and Dana Brown led the Aggies with 11 points each.

The Lady Pirates will play host to South Carolina State on Saturday at 4 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5906, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.