Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Great defense early on and good free throw shooting throughout the game allowed the Norfolk State women's basketball team to hold on against Savannah State, 67-66, Sunday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.

NSU (6-4) had the lead up to 17 at one point in the second half, but the Tigers (7-8) hit several key 3-pointers that allowed them to cut the lead to single digits. The Spartans, who had been struggling from the free throw line this year, hit 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) for the game and iced the win with several key free throws late.

Junior Whitney Long tallied 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead the Spartans, with freshman Rae Corbo tallying a career-high 19 on 6-of-7 shooting. Corbo also hit 6-of-7 from the free throw line and added three assists and two steals.

Long is averaging slightly more than 20 points a game over the last four contests.

Freshman Rachel Gordon grabbed 11 rebounds and three steals, but for the game the Tigers held a 37-30 edge in rebounds. NSU shot exactly 50 percent (21-of-42), including 4-of-8 from the 3-point line, while Savannah State hit 24-of-61 (39.3 percent).

In the first half alone, NSU hit 60.9 percent compared to just 32.3 percent for Savannah State.

The Tigers were led by Darice Fountaine with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, while Ezinne Kalu totaled 19 points with five assists and four steals. Savannah State did hit on 8-of-21 from the 3-point line (38.1 percent), the best mark by an NSU opponent this season, but the Tigers sank just 10-of-19 free throws.

A 3-pointer by Sarah Daily, part of a seven-point effort on the day from the junior, gave NSU a 5-2 lead as the game got underway. After the Tigers took a 1-point lead, 6-5, NSU used an 11-2 run, capped by a quick steal and fastbreak layup by Corbo, to take a 16-8 lead with 13:28 to go.

The Tigers got as close as five points as the first half wore on, but a 10-2 run got the lead into double digits for the first time in the game, with the Spartans holding a 30-17 lead with just over five minutes remaining before the half.

Gordon's layup with 1:02 to go capped the scoring in the first half, and the Tigers failed to convert on numerous opportunities late in the stanza as NSU went into the locker room holding on to a 38-25 lead.

Long and Corbo talled 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the first half, while Fountaine had 15.

The Spartans looked to be in control with their 2-3 defense and up-tempo offense as time started to tick down in the second half. Senior Genor Dalton banked a shot off the glass to give NSU its biggest lead of the game, 47-30, with 14:50 on the clock.

NSU matched Savannah State point-for-point, with the lead fluctuating between 12 and 17 points from the start of the half all the way until the 3:32 mark, when Kalu's 3-pointer cut NSU's lead to 12, 62-50. Fila Smith scored all five of her points over the next few minutes, with her free throw at 1:22 cutting the lead to seven, 62-55.

Kalu hit another basket with 52 seconds left to cut the lead to five, then Fountaine completed a 3-point play with 27 seconds left that had NSU closer to the ropes, 64-60. Kalu's 3-pointer with eight seconds to go made it 65-63, but Long hit both free throws on the other end, and that four-point cushion was just enough to overcome Kalu's last 3-pointer of the game as the clock expired.

NSU hit 5-of-6 free throws with under a minute left to secure the win.

NSU will begin full MEAC play next Saturday at home against Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m.