Malia Tate-DeFreitas’ fabulous freshman season at Hampton University continues.
The former Steel-High standout and 3,300-point prep scorer has been named the MEAC Rookie of the Year.
Tate-DeFreitas is the first Pirates’ player to earn that distinction since Rachel Butler in 2005.
Tate-DeFreitas, a 5-8 guard, is fourth in the MEAC in scoring, popping in 19.0 points per game. She scored 19 points on Wednesday in Hampton’s 71-54 conference quarterfinal win over Howard, sending the Pirates into Friday’s semifinal round.
Hampton went 16-0 in conference play during the regular season and is 26-4 overall.
Tate-DeFreitas averages 2.3 3-pointers per game, No. 2 in the MEAC, and the six-time conference Rookie of the Week and two-time conference Player of the Week had a career-best 36 points vs. Utah State on Nov. 29.
Back in February, Tate-DeFreitas was honored at Steel-High for finishing her Rollers' career with 3,336 points — second-most in PIAA history.