Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball team fought through a difficult test and came out victorious in a 59-54 exhibition win over Elizabeth City State Tuesday night at Joseph Echols Hall.

NSU played tough defense and shot well on the offensive end, hitting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the floor. The Lady Vikings, though, held strong before the Spartans built a seven-point lead with under two minutes to go and held on for the win in front of 1,396 fans.

A pair of freshmen paved the way for the win, as rookie Rae Corbo led NSU with 13 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Corbo also sank several key free throws late in the game and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe all-together.

Freshman Rachel Gordon totaled 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added a game-high eight rebounds, while junior Whitney Long also had 10 points on the night. Sophomore Recca Trice had a game-high six assists and posted eight points.

NSU limited the Vikings to a 36.7 shooting clip (22-of-60), including just 32.3 percent in the first half. ECSU also attempted 26 3-pointers compared to just eight for NSU, but the Spartans clamped down on the defense, holding the Vikings to 23.1 percent from beyond the arc.

NSU held a 36-35 advantage in rebounds and also had an 11-8 edge in steals. ECSU had five blocks on the night compared to four for the Spartans.

Gordon got NSU on the scoreboard first before the Vikings ran off six straight points to take a 6-2 lead. Trice found Long streaking up the court for the fastbreak layup that made it 8-6 with 15:59 to go in the first half, and Corbo's fastbreak bunny with 10:55 on the block gave NSU a four-point lead again at 14-10.

After the Vikings held NSU scoreless during a 5-0 run that last more than three minutes, NSU turned right back around and used a 7-0 run, capped by another fastbreak layup by sophomore Marian Brooks, to take the biggest lead of the half at 21-15 with six and a half minutes to go.

NSU led in fastbreak points for the game, 16-4.

Up 25-20 with 4:06 to go, the Vikings scored six of the half's last eight points as NSU went into the break up by one, 27-26.

Gordon again got the scoring started in the second half, but a 12-2 run over the next four and a half minutes gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the game at 38-31. Junior Sarah Daily finished an 8-0 run after she sank a shot inside the paint that put NSU back on top, 39-38, one of eight lead changes in the game.

After Corbo sank a 3-pointer to tie the score at 46-46 with exactly six minutes remaining, neither team could convert for the next two minutes until Daily gave NSU the lead for good with a pair of free throws at the 3:55 mark.

Corbo sank all six of her free throws with less than three minutes showing on the clock as NSU went up by as much as seven with a minute and a half to go before hanging on for the win.

The Spartans will kick their regular season off Saturday at St. Paul's for a 2 p.m. start.