NORFOLK, Va. – Hampton University sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas has been named First Team All-State by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), as the All-State teams were announced on Monday.
Tate-DeFreitas (Harrisburg, Pa.), the reigning MEAC Player of the Year, led the conference and ranked 14th in the nation in scoring this past season, averaging 21.3 points per game. She also ranked 15th in the nation – and second in the MEAC – with 3.0 steals per contest.
She also led the MEAC in minutes played (36.6), was fourth in the conference in 3-pointers per game (2.0), and sixth in the MEAC in free throw percentage (.771).
In 32 games this past season, Tate-DeFreitas – a five-time MEAC Player of the Week – scored in double figures 30 times, including 22 20-point efforts and three games in which she eclipsed the 30-point mark. She had a career-high 39 points at Howard on Feb. 28.
In dropping 37 points at South Carolina State on Jan. 26, Tate-DeFreitas became the 26th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. In two seasons with the Lady Pirates, she has 1,277 points – ranking her 11th in program history.
For the season, Tate-DeFreitas – who was also named ECAC Div. I South Player of the Week back on March 3 – shot 37.7 percent (255-for-677) from the floor and made 63 out of 217 3-pointers taken (29.0 percent). She also went 108-for-140 at the free throw line.
Tate-DeFreitas also had two double-doubles on the season, and she grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against North Carolina A&T on Jan. 17.
She was also named a Third Team All-Star by the ECAC last week.
James Madison’s Precious Hall was named VaSID University Division Player of the Year, while Kenny Brooks – also from JMU – was named Coach of the Year. Norfolk State’s Kayla Roberts was named VaSID Rookie of the Year.