Tournament Guide
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The NSU women's basketball team, the No. 11 seed in the 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament, will take on No. 6 Hampton on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Looking at NSU: The Spartans (1-26, 1-15 MEAC) ended the regular season with a 97-65 loss to regular-season champion North Carolina A&T. Despite shooting season-highs of 54.8 percent (23-of-42) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from 3-point range, NSU could not outdo the Lady Aggies. Freshman guard Marquilla Evans scored a career-high 28 points, 24 in the first half, on 8-on-13 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. On the season, NSU is averaging 55.6 points and 34.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Raychele Payne leads the team in scoring at 10.7, while Evans and senior guard Tashawna Higgins lead the defense with 3.8 rebounds per game.
Game Coverage: Chris Park (play-by-play) and Ross Gordon (color) will call the game on WNSB 91.1 FM beginning approximately 15 minutes before the tip off of each game. Live stats for the games can be accessed on www.hbculivestats.com
Series History: Hampton leads the all-time series with Norfolk State 41-35. The Lady Pirates swept the regular-season meetings this year, winning 87-57 on Jan. 31 at the HU Convocation Center and 73-48 on Feb. 28 at Echols Hall. The Spartans' last win over Hampton was a 70-66 win on Dec. 2, 2006 at Echols Hall.
NSU is 2-2 against Hampton in the MEAC Tournament. The Spartans first tournament win over Hampton was in the championship game of the 2002 tournament when NSU won 61-52 to earn its first-ever MEAC Tournament title. That win avenged a 66-64 Lady Pirate win in the finals of the 2000 tournament. NSU beat Hampton 64-53 in the quarterfinals of the 2005 tournament and Hampton returned the favor in 2006 by knocking the Spartans out in the first round with a 65-60 win.
NSU in the MEAC Tournament: NSU is 12-9 all-time in the MEAC Tournament. The Spartans advanced to the championship game three times (2000, 2002 and 2005), winning its first-ever MEAC Tournament title in 2002. In two of the last three years, however, NSU has been eliminated in the fi rst round. The Spartans' last victory in the MEAC Tournament came in the form of a 58-54 fi rst-round win over Maryland Eastern Shore in 2007.
Here is how the Spartans have fared against MEAC opponents in the conference tournament since beginning play in 1999:
B-CU: 2-0 Howard: 0-1
CSU: 0-1 UMES: 3-0
DSU: 0-3 MSU: 1-1
FAMU: 2-0 NCAT: 0-0
Hampton: 2-2 SCSU: 2-1
