DeLand, Fla. – The Hatters have been plagued at times this season with sluggish starts to the second half, including one on Wednesday night at Tennessee. Friday, however, Stetson scored 22 points in the third quarter en route to a solid 68-59 victory over visiting Hampton at the Edmunds Center.
Brianti Saunders stayed hot with a team-high 26 points on 7-for-11 shooting as the Hatters concluded non-conference play with a 9-5 mark.
“I thought it was a really good response after the Tennessee game,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “I really didn't know how we would respond to that, and I thought we responded really well. I think Hampton is a good team, they are very physical. They sit down and guard, and they rebound really well. I thought we did a good job handling their pressure.”
The Hatters hit just 16 field goals in the game and shot 36 percent from the floor, but a 30-for-39 performance from the free throw line proved to be the difference in the game.
Hampton (3-10) was called for 26 fouls as three Lady Pirates fouled out.
“They were physical with us, and we as a team have to be physical back,” said McKenna Beach, who scored all nine of her points at the line.
Beach was part of a freshman trio that combined for 25 points. Myka Johnson-Matthews and Ida Andersson added eight points apiece. Andersson was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers.
“I thought Ida had the best game of her career here,” Bria said. “It is something we have been waiting on her to do. To her credit, she has just hung in there and kept practicing. I really have a lot of respect for Ida because she could have given up. She just keeps playing hard, she keeps getting coached, and she really wants to be great. I am proud of her.”
The Hatters led 27-24 at the break, but Hampton scored the first four points of the second half to take a one-point lead. However, the Hatters responded with a barrage of 3-pointers during an 18-7 run to take command of the game.
“I thought we came out (in the second half) a lot better this game,” Bria said. “We played a really good third quarter. I am not sure what we did, but we are going to bottle it up and try to do it again. I thought overall we played hard and really executed our game plan.”
DeAsia Beal added eight points and seven rebounds while playing 35 minutes.
Malia Tate-DeFreitas led the Lady Pirates with 27 points.
Stetson will open Atlantic Sun Conference play on Jan. 9 at Florida Gulf Coast.
Notes: Brianti Saunders has scored in double figures in all 14 games this season (15 straight overall). She has topped 20 points this season four times ... The Hatters improved to 9-0 when holding their opponent below 70 points ... Stetson's 30 free throws made and 39 free throws attempted were both season-highs ... It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
