Box Score
DELAND, Fla. — Freshman guard Marquilla Evans (Portsmouth, Va.) scored a game- and career-high 22 points, but it was not enough as the Norfolk State women's basketball team fell 84-70 to Stetson on Sunday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.
Evans, one of the four true freshmen who started the game, added five rebounds, a team-high five assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes. Sophomore Danelle Tate (Stafford, Va.) was the fifth starter.
For the second straight game, the Spartans (0-2) opened up the scoring, with freshman guard Tyisha Bridges (Greensboro, N.C.) scoring on a layup with 19:18 left in the first half. Stetson (1-1) answered on the other end with a jumper by Jessica Bivens with 19:08 left.
A jumper by Bridges at the 16:19 mark gave NSU an 8-7 lead, but a jumper by Jessica Conner 18 seconds later gave the Hatters a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
Stetson took a 14-point lead, 47-33, into halftime after a layup by Ashli Jackson with three seconds left in the period.
The Spartans rallied in the second half and got within one, 70-69, on a jumper by Tate with 3:01 left in the game. Evans and senior Ebony Gibbs (Petersburg, Va.) provided the offensive spark for NSU, scoring 15 and 12 points, respectively, in the second period.
In an evenly played game, Stetson shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, grabbed 40 rebounds and had 23 turnovers, 19 assists and 17 steals. NSU was 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) from the field and had 38 rebounds, 31 turnovers, 17 assists and 12 steals.
The difference came at the free-throw line as the Spartans committed 29 fouls, sending the Hatters to the line 40 times. They made good on 24 of them. NSU was 12-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Conner led five Stetson players in double figures with 19 points and added seven rebounds. Tierra Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, and a game-high six steals. Jackson contributed 15 points, while Bivins had 13 and Sharnesha Smith had 10.
Gibbs tallied 14 points and three rebounds and Tate had 12 points and five rebounds, while senior Tashawna Higgins (Toronto, Ontario) had a team-high seven boards.
The Spartans head back to Virginia to take on William & Mary on Thursday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
