ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Jordan Strode tallied a game-high 18 points, leading the Norfolk State women's basketball team to a 68-53 victory over South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon at the S-H-M Memorial Center.
 
The Spartans (12-9, 7-2 MEAC) outscored the Lady Bulldogs 25-14 in the second period, taking a 34-22 lead to the locker room at the intermission. The Spartans shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor, including 50 percent (3-of-6) from behind the 3-point line, while their defense limited South Carolina State (5-15, 2-7 MEAC) to 24.1 percent (7-of-29), including 20 percent (1-of-5) from deep, in the half.
 
Strode went 4-of-5 from the floor and tallied 10 of her 18 points in the first half.
 
The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter. Norfolk State saw its biggest lead of the game at 16, when Khalilah Ali converted in the paint with 6:08 left in the period, making the score 42-26. The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to 11 at 45-34, with 1:37 left in the stanza, when Bryeasha Blair buried a triple from the right wing.
 
Dominique Harper barely made the net move when she swished a 12-foot floater from the left baseline, giving the Spartans a 49-36 lead, just 20 seconds into the final frame. South Carolina State was able to cut the deficit to nine points on two separate occasions. Blair made a layup at the 5:36 mark, closing the Spartans lead to 53-44. However, Norfolk State held a double-digit lead the rest of the game. Kayla Roberts completed the scoring when she converted two free throws with 38 seconds remaining.
 
Roberts tallied 12 points and seven rebounds. She was 5-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the foul line. Her 900^th career-point came with 1:10 remaining in the first half, when she sank a left-handed layup.
 
Harper added nine points and four rebounds, while Ali tallied eight points and five boards. Gabrielle Swinson recorded three assists and two steals. Kieera Basey made both jumpers she attempted, including one from behind the arc and finished with five points.
 
The Spartans had nine of their 11 players record at least two points, while 10-of-11 grabbed at least two rebounds and seven had at least one assist. As a team, Norfolk State assisted on 18 of its 26 made buckets, while the Lady Bulldogs notched eight assists on 19 made baskets.
 
The Spartans shot 26-of-62 (41.9 percent) from the floor, including 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from 3-point land, while holding the South Carolina State to 19-of-57 (33.3 percent) from the floor and 3-of-14 (21.4) from deep.
 
Norfolk State converted 21 turnovers by the Lady Bulldogs into 18 points, while South Carolina State notched just five points off of 19 miscues by the Spartans.
 
Norfolk State out rebounded the Lady Bulldogs 47-31, including 31-23 on the defensive glass. The Spartans capitalized with 14 second-chance points, while South Carolina State tallied nine points on its opportunities.
 
The Spartans were limited to two blocks, which is the fewest in a game this season. However, with the two blocks, Norfolk State has 136 blocks on the season, matching the Division 1 era record for most blocks in a season. 
 
The Spartans will continue their two-game road trip when they travel to Savannah, Ga. on Monday. The game will begin at 6 p.m.