Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (Sunday Only) | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team gets its first big test of the 2010-11 season at the Comfort Inn & Suites Classic at Morehead State Friday through Sunday.
The Spartans will take on Houston Baptist at 4 p.m. Friday, Central Arkansas at 5 p.m. Saturday, then finish the tournament with the host Eagles of Morehead State Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
It will mark the first time ever NSU has faced these three opponents.
For live stats of all three games, click here. To watch a live video stream of all three games, click here, and for live audio of the game against Morehead State, click here.
Last Time Out: Gordon tallied 20 points in her first collegiate game as NSU opened up its 2010-11 season with a 68-44 win over St. Paul's last Saturday on the road.
Gordon shot 8-of-13 from the floor and also added 11 rebounds and three steals as the NSU defense stifled St. Paul's into a 28.8 percent shooting clip (17-of-59). The Tigers managed just 15 points in the first half, while NSU (1-0) shot 49.1 percent overall.
Owens totaled 13 points and six rebounds, while Long joined her in double figures with 11 points. The Spartans held a slight rebounding edge, 41-38, and also had more steals, 14-7, and assists, 19-6.
There was some rust early on for NSU, as the Spartans did not get on the scoreboard until the 13:13 mark, when Corbo drained the first of two 3-pointers on the night for NSU. Corbo's shot started a 13-0 run for NSU that gave the Spartans a 13-6 lead with 7:12 remaining.
After coming out of halftime with a 30-15 lead, Daily capped a 9-2 run with a 3-pointer that gave NSU a 46-29 lead with 13:40 to go. Both teams then hit a cold streak, with NSU going almost six minutes without a score. But a pair of free throws from Gordon with 7:05 left started a huge 18-2 run for the Spartans that put the game out of reach for the Tigers.
About Morehead State: The Eagles stand 0-2 on the season after a pair of challenging games at No. 9 Kentucky and No. 12 Notre Dame.
Chynna Bozeman tallied 28 points in the two losses, with Linda Dixon and Courtney Lumpkin totaling 11 points in the two losses. Ashar Harris grabbed 18 rebounds, with Dixon adding 11. The Eagles have shot just 23.4 percent so far this year and committed 76 turnovers in the losses.
About Central Arkansas: After a season-opening win over Hendrix, the Sugar Bears dropped an 87-76 decision to Alabama on Sunday.
Megan Herbert averaged 22 points in the two games, while Sidney Stewart (16.5) and Micah Rice (14.0) also reached double-figures. The star of the show, Herbert averaged 15 rebounds and has hit 20-of-21 free throws so far on the year. The Bears had the biggest advantage over their opponents in steals, 20-8.
About Houston Baptist: The Huskies suffered two defeats to start the season, against Texas Christian and then Louisville on Wednesday night.
Tia Jackson and Destini Texada averaged 6.5 and 6.0 points, respectively, in those two games, and Texada also grabbed 8.0 boards per game. The Huskies have shot just 28.1 percent so far this year and committed 61 turnovers compared to just 20 for their two opponents.
Making a Splash: The coaches knew Gordon could provide a big lift as a freshman, and she certainly did not disappoint, posting a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in her first collegiate game at St. Paul's. Gordon shot 8-of-13 from the floor, and had five of her 11 boards on the offensive end.
NSU players had four double-doubles last season, including two by Owens and one by Dalton.
More Rookie Props: Corbo, another freshman expected to make a big impact right away, had a solid all-around game as well against the Tigers, handing out six assists to go along with five points, three rebounds and three steals. She committed just two turnovers for a healthy 3:1 turnover ratio.
Great Defense: NSU held St. Paul's to a 28.8 percent shooting clip, the first time NSU held an opponent to under 30 percent since Jan. 3, 2008 against Virginia Union, a span of 75 games. Virginia Union shot 25.4 percent (17-of-67) that night.
In terms of margin of victory and total points, you have to go all the way back to 2005 against Bethune-Cookman to find a game where NSU won by more than 24 and allowed fewer than 44 points. NSU defeated the Wildcats, 72-41, on Feb. 7, 2005.
Great Offense, Too: The Spartans not only played solid defense, but performed well on the other end of the floor, too. Shooting 49.1 percent for the night, NSU had its highest percentage in 25 games dating back to last year's contest against St. Paul's. Against the Tigers last year, NSU had its best shooting night of the season, connecting on 51.9 percent from the floor.
Making the Extra Pass: NSU tallied 19 assists against St. Paul's, the most since posting 19 against Virginia Union on Dec. 18, 2006. You have to go all the way back to Nov. 18, 2005 to find a time NSU had more assists. On that night, the Spartans had 20 helpers against Campbell.
Mixing It Up: NSU will use a lot of combinations on the floor throughout the season, and it showed against St. Paul's. No player saw more than 29 minutes on the floor, while eight players were on the floor for at least 15 minutes each.
Charity Stripe Success: The Spartans shot better from the free throw line than their opponent in 19 of 27 games last year and made either as many or more free throws than the opposition in 17 of those 27 games. Against St. Paul's, though, NSU (12-of-27, 44.4 percent) hit for a worse percentage than the Tigers (9-of-17, 52.9 percent).
Up Next: NSU wraps up the month of November with a home game against Wofford Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. at Echols Hall before heading to North Carolina A&T Dec. 4 for the first conference game of the year.
