Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State secured its fourth winning season in conference play since moving to Division I with an 83-68 victory over South Carolina State on Wednesday night at Echols Hall.

Kiara Phillips led four Spartans (14-10, 9-3 MEAC) in scoring with 18 points. She added seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Gabrielle Swinson recorded a career-high 17 points, with seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.

Kieera Basey also registered a career-high 10 points, while Kayla Roberts netted her 12^th double-double of the season, with 10 points and 12 rebounds. She was forced to watch most of the first half after picking up two early fouls. However, she grabbed 11 rebounds and scored all 10 points in the final 20 minutes.

Norfolk State led 48-39 after an eventful first half, which saw both teams make runs. 

Norfolk State scored 17 of the first 19 points and Swinson registered eight of those points. The Spartans pressure defense force 15 turnovers in the first half, including 10 in the first period. They turned the 15 miscues into 19 points. But South Carolina State (5-19, 2-11) closed the opening quarter on a 16-4 run and Norfolk State led 21-18 after the first 10 minutes.

Brittany Drumgoogle paced the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points in the first quarter. She went 3-of-5 from the field, which included all three shots from behind the 3-point line.

In the second quarter, Khalilah Ali made a free throw with 7:06 left in the half to give Norfolk State a 29-20 lead. However, South Carolina State ran off 10 of the next 12 points and trailed 31-30 at the 5:17 mark. Norfolk State would regain control of the game by outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 17-9 the rest of
the period and took a 48-39 lead to the locker room.

The teams combined to miss the first eight field-goal attempts of the third period. But South Carolina State cut the deficit to 48-42 when Bryeasha Blair drained a triple 1:49 into the frame. However, Norfolk State scored the next four points and slowly increased its lead to 19 at 69-50 when Swinson made two free throws with three seconds remaining in the period.

Norfolk State saw its biggest lead of the game at 23 when Roberts made an 18-footer from the right wing with 7:18 remaining in the game. Spartans head coach Larry Vickers began to slowly empty his bench and South Carolina State outscored Norfolk State 16-8 the rest of the way. The closest the Lady Bulldogs would get was 13, when JaQuanna Murray made 1-of-2 at the line with 1:53 to go. Shayla Tanner stepped to the line and drained both free throws at the 41-second mark for the final margin of victory.

Norfolk State assisted on 27 of its 33 made buckets, which is the second-most this season and the most against a Division I opponent.

The Spartans tallied 42 points in the paint and allowed just 16 by the Lady Bulldogs. Norfolk State also scored 29 points in transition, while not allowing a single fast-break point in a game for the second time this season.

Norfolk State's last winning MEAC record came in 2014-15, when the team went 11-5. Before that, the Spartans' last winning MEAC season came during the 2001-02 MEAC championship year (13-5).

The Spartans have a short turnaround before heading to the Sunshine State for the final two road games out of the Hampton Roads area in the regular season. They will begin the road trip at Florida A&M on Saturday at 4 p.m.