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NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will dig in for the long haul over the next two months as the full MEAC season gets underway. NSU will kick things off at home with Bethune-Cookman Saturday at 4 p.m. and Florida A&M Monday at 6 p.m.
The series between Bethune-Cookman and NSU is tied at 11-11, although the Wildcats have taken the last four meetings.
About Bethune-Cookman: The Wildcats own a 6-6 record on the season and lost to Florida A&M in their only conference game of the season so far. Four of those wins have come against non-Division I schools.
The Wildcats do not score a lot, averaging just 58.6 points per game on 36.6 percent shooting, but they also only give up 58.7 points per contest. After missing the first five games of the season, Jasmine Elum has averaged 15.0 points a contest in the last seven.
Sarah Bolden and Jasmine Daniels each total 9.5 points a game, but for the Wildcats the biggest loss of the season came when Demetria Frank went down with an injury after seven games. Frank had been averaging 15.4 points a game but has missed the last five contests. Bolden also leads the team in rebounding at 6.9 a game, while Daniels has a team-leading 31 assists.
About Florida A&M: The Rattlers own a 5-7 record, including the win over Bethune-Cookman, but FAMU has faced a daunting schedule that so far has included games at Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa State, Long Beach State and a neutral site game against N.C. State.
Stopping FAMU means stopping the MEAC's leading scorer, Tameka McKelton, who has totaled 18.5 points per game, and Antonia Bennett, who delivers 13.8 points. Qiana Donald leads the way with 7.2 rebounds, while Bennett stands second with 7.0. Bennett also leads the team with 25 steals and 19 blocks.
Myeshia Simms has dished out 46 assists for a team that averages just under 62 points a game and shoots at a 37.1 percent shooting clip.
Last Time Out: Despite a late rally by Savannah State, NSU came away with a 67-66 win over the Tigers last Sunday at Echols Hall.
Whitney Long and Rae Corbo posted 22 and 19 points, respectively, to lead the Spartan attack. NSU shot an even 50 percent for the game, including a 21-of-26 effort from the free throw line.
Darice Fountaine and Ezinne Kalu combined for 39 points on the day for Savannah State, which hit 39.3 percent but also had a 37-30 advantage in rebounds. NSU led by as much as 17 in the second half before several 3-pointers by the Tigers cut into the lead.
Long Providing a Spark: For the fourth game in a row, Long led the Spartans in scoring, totaling 22 against Savannah State last Sunday. She currently ranks fifth in the MEAC in scoring at 14.1 points per game, fourth in shooting percentage at 46.9 and easily leads in 3-point field goal percentage at 51.5.
Long is averaging 21.0 points a game over her last four contests and is shooting 31-of-53 (58.5 percent) during that span, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from long range.
National Statistical Leader (Almost): How good as Long been from long range? Her 51.5 percent clip from beyond the arc for the season would lead the nation, but the NCAA requires players to average 2 3-pointers made a game. Long has tallied 17 in 10 games.
The national leader heading into the weekend is Ali Heller of Rider at 51.0 percent, the only player in the national rankings hitting 50 percent or better.
Already Surpassing Last Year: With a 6-4 record, NSU has already surpassed the number of wins from the previous two seasons combined. A seventh win will mark the most victories since the 2005-06 campaign, when NSU record eight victories on the year.
NSU started the year out with a 4-1 record. The only other time that happened in the D-I era occurred during the 2001-02 season when NSU went on to capture the MEAC tournament title.
Leading the MEAC: NSU ranked in the top 3 in 11 different categories heading into the weekend. NSU led the conference in field goal percentage (42.1), 3-point field goal percentage (38.5), rebounding margin (+1.3) and assists (12.6), and ranked second in scoring offense (62.8), 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.2) and assist-turnover ratio (0.6).
Nationally Ranked Defense: Through games of Jan. 2, NSU ranked 26th in the nation in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to a 26.2 percent clip from long range.
Balanced Scoring: NSU is the only school in the MEAC to have four players average at least 8.0 points per game or better. Coppin State, Hampton and North Carolina A&T each have three players scoring 8.0 points or better per game.
Clutch at the Line: NSU hit all seven of its free throws in overtime against McNeese State on Dec. 18 and the last 10 in the game after going just 6-of-14 before that. In the overtime win against Central Arkansas on Nov. 20, NSU connected on 7-of-8 free throws in the extra session. So far this season, NSU is shooting 58.1 percent from the free throw line, but 69.0 percent (29-of-42) in the last two minutes of the second half and overtime.
Hot Hands: NSU hit 50.0 percent from the floor and 80.8 percent from the free throw line in the 67-66 win over Savannah State last Sunday. The last time the Spartans hit at least 50 percent of their shots and 80 percent of their free throws occurred Feb. 28, 2004, when the Spartans connected for 53.5 percent from the floor and 81.8 percent from the free throw line in a win over Delaware State at Echols Hall.
Mixing It Up: NSU has used a number of different combinations on the floor throughout the season. NSU has used seven different starting lineups, and nine players are averaging at least 14 minutes a game.
Best Start in D-I: The Spartans began the year 3-0 before falling to Morehead State. It marked the first time NSU began a year 3-0 in the Division I era. The last time the Spartans won their first three games of the season was 1996-97, NSU's last year in Division II.
Brooks, Chambers Shooting Lights Out: So far this season, Marian Brooks and Carlon Chambers have combined to go 36-of-63 from the floor, a 57.1 percent shooting clip. Neither player, though, has attempted enough shots to rank in the MEAC.
Increased Production: After Batavia Owens averaged 4.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last year, the coaches stated they needed her to be a consistent performer this year. So far the sophomore has scored in double figures in five games and has posted 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
No Sophomore Slump: After finishing first in the conference in assists and sixth in steals last year, Recca Trice is at it again in her sophomore campaign. She stands second in assists at 4.0 per contest, but more importantly, sits first in assist-turnover ratio at 1.6 (36 assists, 23 turnovers).
Owning the Glass: After getting outrebounded by 7.5 boards a game last year, NSU has outrebounded six of its 10 opponents this year. Through those 10 games, the Spartans rank first in the MEAC with a +1.3 rebounding margin.
What Lies Ahead: NSU will head across the bay to face Hampton at 4 p.m. next Saturday before traveling to Howard Jan. 17 for a 6 p.m. contest.
