Live Audio | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will hit the road to face a pair of foes the Spartans defeated earlier in the season, starting with North Carolina Central Saturday afternoon and concluding with South Carolina State Monday evening.

NSU took the last meeting against NC Central, a 66-55 win Jan. 22 in Norfolk, to improve to 17-4 in the all-time series. The Spartans defeated S.C. State, 73-65, on Jan. 24 and now lead that all-time series, 17-13.

Media Coverage: All of NSU's games from now until the end of the season can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM. Click here for the link to the live audio feed.

Last Time Out: Saadia Doyle tallied a career-high 38 points, and NSU had just 12 points at the half as Howard went on to win, 66-49, Monday night at Echols Hall. Doyle hit 10-of-18 from the floor and 17-of-20 from the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds.

NSU, which shot just 28.8 percent for the game, was led by Sarah Daily with 10 points and Rachel Gordon with eight points and seven rebounds. Howard had a 29-9 edge in points off turnovers despite committing just one fewer turnover than NSU.

About NC Central: The Eagles ended a 13-game losing streak with a pair of wins last weekend against Coppin State and Morgan State. NC Central now stands 4-21 overall on the season.

Jori Nwachukwu is the heart and soul of the team, leading the way with 13.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game with 33 total blocks. Chasidy Williams totals 11.5 points, but only four players average at least 3.5 points or better.

The Eagles average just 49.7 points a game and have been outscored by 17.7 points. They shoot just 32.5 percent, including a 21.5 percent clip from 3-point line. NC Central commits a whopping 24 turnovers per game and gets outrebounded by 6 boards a contest.

About S.C. State: The Bulldogs broke a nine-game losing streak with a 60-57 win over Morgan State last Monday. The win improved their record to 7-15 overall and 3-9 in the MEAC.

Whitney Wiley leads S.C. State with 10.6 points per game, while Tiara Knotts leads the league in 3-point shooting and tallies 8.2 points to go along with a team-leading 77 assists. Fannie Goodwin averages a team-best 6.4 rebounds per contest.

The Bulldogs have struggled offensively this year, averaging just 53.6 points per game and shooting slightly better than 35 percent. They have also been outrebounded by 5.5 boards a game, although S.C. State does force more turnovers and grabs more steals than its opponents.

Outshooting Everyone: Heading into the weekend, NSU was tops in the conference in field goal percentage (39.9) and 3-point field goal percentage (33.9).

Sarah Daily and Whitney Long are the only two players in the league shooting at least 39 percent from the floor as well as from 3-point range, minimum 10 made treys. Long stands second in the league in 3-point shooting at 45.1 percent.

Fans Flock to Echols: The announced attendance of 2,253 against Hampton on Feb. 12 marked the highest home attendance for the women's team since Feb. 26, 2000, when 3,412 people came out to watch NSU take on the Pirates. It was also NSU's first time topping 2,000 fans in 10 years.

Daily's Back: After posting just nine total points during a three-game set, Sarah Daily has rebounded in her last six games, averaging 10.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. She has shot 23-of-54 from the floor, including an 11-of-18 mark from the 3-point line.

Nationally Ranked (Almost): How good has Whitney Long been from long range? Her 45.1 percent clip from beyond the arc for the season would rank ninth in the nation, but the NCAA requires players to average 2 3-pointers made a game. Long has tallied 32 in 22 games.

Best Season in Six Years: With an 8-14 record, NSU has already surpassed the number of wins from the previous two seasons combined. With one more win, the Spartans will have secured the most victories since the 2004-05 campaign, when NSU had a 12-18 overall record.

Hitting Those Free Throws: After struggling at the charity stripe for the first half of the season, NSU has connected on 102-of-150 (68.0 percent) in the last nine games. Included in that stretch was a 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) effort at Coppin State on Jan. 31. NSU has not hit that well from the free throw line since March 2, 2009, when the Spartans posted a 12-of-13 effort (92.3 percent) from the line against Howard.

Balanced Scoring, Rebounding: NSU is one of four schools in the MEAC along with Howard, Bethune-Cookman and Hampton to have at least three players in the top 25 in the league in scoring, and one of two along with N.C. A&T with three players in the top 18 in rebounds per game.

Whitney Long has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in six games, followed by Rae Corbo and Sarah Daily (five games) and Batavia Owens (four games).

Telltale Signs: NSU is 7-1 on the season when leading at halftime but 1-13 when trailing. The Spartans have also gone 1-10 in true road games, 2-0 in neutral site contests and 5-4 at home.

Mixing It Up: NSU has used a number of different combinations on the floor throughout the season. The Spartans have had 11 different starting lineups, and nine players are averaging at least 12 minutes a game.

Owning the Glass: After getting outrebounded by 7.5 boards a game last year, NSU has been steady on the boards this year, grabbing exactly as many rebounds as its opponents, 37.0 per game. The Spartans have had the edge on the boards in 12 of the season's 22 games.

What Lies Ahead: The Spartans will finish the regular season with a three-game homestand beginning with Morgan State Feb. 26 at Echols Hall.