Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. – Tashawna Higgins (Toronto, Ontario) hit a layup with 12 seconds left in overtime to seal Norfolk State's 94-88 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over Howard on Monday night at Echols Hall. The win gave head coach Tara A. Owens her first victory in the MEAC and her fourth win of the season.
NSU's 94 points were the most scored by a Spartan team since a 97-62 win over South Carolina State in the 1998-99 season. There were also several other season-firsts for the team including most made field goals (37), most players in double figures (five), most rebounds (65), most assists (18), and most steals (18).
Ebony Gibbs (Petersburg, Va.) hit two free throws with five seconds left in regulation to tie the game 77-all. Reyna Gross missed a desperation jumper at the buzzer to send the game into the Spartans' first overtime period of the season.
Danelle Tate (Stafford, Va.) broke the tie with a layup with 4:51 left in overtime, but Shannon Carlisle answered on the other end for Howard (2-18, 2-6 MEAC) to tie the game at 79-all.
A layup by Amanda Edwards with 3:44 left forced the ninth tie of the game 83-all, but Higgins hit a layup with 3:16 left to give NSU (4-14, 1-7) the lead for good.
The Lady Bison took control of the game in the first half, but saw an 11 point lead turn into a three-point deficit at halftime. Zykia Brown hit a jumper with 12:05 left in the period to put Howard up 21-10, but the Spartans went on a 16-5 run to take a one-point lead, 26-25, with 6:36 left. NSU got up by as many as nine, 38-29, in the final three minutes, but took a 38-35 lead into the break.
The Spartans came out focused in the second half and quickly took a 15-point lead on a layup by reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week Raychele Payne (Newport News, Va.) with 11:40 left in regulation. The lead slowly dwindled away, however, and Carlisle hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to tie the game at 75-all.
Carlisle put Howard up 77-75 after making two free throws that resulted from a technical foul being assessed to the Spartans for calling a timeout when they did not have any remaining. But Asha Santee fouled Gibbs who hit both free throws to send the game into overtime.
NSU shot 38.1 percent for the game (37-of-97), outrebounded Howard 65-50, and forced 31 Lady Bison turnovers. Howard was 36-of-84 from the field for the game (42.9 percent) and had 13 blocks.
Tamaya Daniels and Carlisle combined for 50 of Howard's points. Daniels just missed a triple-double with 29 points, 16 rebounds, and eight blocks and was 14-of-16 from the field. Carlisle had 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Gross had seven assists.
For NSU Tate lead her team with her first career double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs. Tate was 10-of-21 from the field and had a career-high five steals. Higgins also had a career night also, recording personal bests in points (20), rebounds (seven), and free throws made and attempted (10-of-10).
Payne had 20 points for her fifth straight game scoring in double figures, while Genor Dalton (Martinsville, Va.) had a career-high 12 points and Gibbs contributed 10. Natasha Huntley (Greensboro, N.C.) had seven points and career-bests in rebounds (seven) and assists (seven).
The Spartans hit the road to take on the Florida schools this weekend. They play at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach on Saturday and then travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida A&M on Monday. Tip time is at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
