HAMPTON, VA --- Junior center Victoria Gonzales scored a season-high 23 points and junior guard Imani Bailey chipped in with 13, but it was not enough to offset the tandem of Kyani White and Malia Tate-DeFtreitas, who combined for 49 points to lead Hampton to an 80-61 win over the Howard women's basketball team in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action Monday evening at the Hampton Convocation Center.

Gonzales connected on 7-of-12 shots from the floor and 9-of-13 from the free throw line while also grabbing a career-best 12 rebounds to record her second double-double of the year and the best of Howard's seven double-doubles this season. Bailey added six assists and six rebounds to her statistics but the undermanned Lady Bison (3-20, 3-7 MEAC) - who suited up only seven players - fell to the deeper Lady Pirates (12-11, 8-2 MEAC).

To Howard's credit, the team did not fold after trailing by 22 at one point early in the second half.

Gonzales and Bailey, along with sophomore forward Sydni Johnson, fueled a rally that reduced the margin to 65-56 with a little under six minutes remaining in the contest. But Hampton, the four-time defending regular season and five-time tournament champs, used a 15-5 run to close out the game and secure the win.

White scored a game-high 28 points by connecting on 11-of-16 from the field and added seven rebounds while Tate-DeFreitas was a prefect 9-of-9 from the free throw line en route to scoring 21.

NEXT UP: Howard continues its six-game road trip with a matchup against Coppin State on Saturday, February 14 at 2 p.m.