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NORFOLK, Va. – Sophomore Rae Corbo drained a 30-foot jumper at the buzzer off of a last-second inbounds pass to give the Norfolk State women's basketball team a 61-58 victory over UMES Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.

The Hawks erased a six-point deficit with less than two minutes to go, including the last two points on a basket by Adobi Agbasi with 24 seconds left. NSU called two timeouts in the last possession of the game, the latter with just 1.6 seconds left after Chelsea Sanders fouled NSU junior Recca Trice.

Following the timeout, senior Tyisha Bridges found Corbo way outside the 3-point arc on the right-hand side after her first inbounds option was not open. Corbo's desperation heave with a defender right in her face found the bottom of the net, sending the Spartans to their second conference victory of the season.

NSU improved to 7-7 overall on the season, and 2-1 in the MEAC, matching last year's win total in conference play. UMES fell to 3-10 overall, 1-1 in the conference.

Corbo and junior Batavia Owens led the way with game highs of 16 points, including 10 each in the second half. Owens hit several key baskets in the second half to keep NSU on top after the Hawks had erased a 15-point halftime deficit in the first 10 minutes of the second stanza. Owens hit 8-of-11 from the floor for the game.

Agbasi led UMES with 12 points and four blocks, while Kwinnyata Mercer was the only other player for either team in double figures with 10.

The Hawks hit 23-of-61 (37.7 percent) for the game, with NSU slightly better at 22-of-56 (39.3 percent), including a 4-of-9 clip from beyond the arc. The Spartans used their advantage at the free throw line (13-of-16), with UMES attempting just eight shots at the charity stripe all game.

Senior Whitney Long contributed nine points to go along with three assists and three steals. Corbo had a game-high four assists.

Sophomore Rachel Gordon assisted on a pair of buckets early on by Corbo and Long as the Spartans grabbed a 7-0 lead just 1:48 into the game. UMES got back into it with some pressure defense, but Bridges converted a three-point play and then hit a fastbreak bucket on the next possession to make it 15-8 with 13:12 to go in the first half.

Long's fastbreak bucket off some pinpoint passing made it 19-8 and ended a 9-0 run for the Spartans that lasted five minutes. Long later gave NSU a 12-point lead at the 5:48 mark with a trey from the top of the arc for a 26-14 advantage.

Long got fouled hard on a fastbreak and had to be temporarily taken out of the game, but she was able to convert the bucket as she went to the ground, and freshman Ebony Brown came in and hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play with 1:21 to go in the first stanza. That free throw pushed the lead to the biggest of the game for the Spartans, 32-16.

NSU ended the half on an 8-3 run to take a 34-19 lead at the break, with Long leading the way with all nine of her points.

The Hawks came out with energy in the second half and used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 34-28, before freshman Quineshia Leonard sank a pair of free throws to finally get the Spartans on the board. NSU finally got its first bucket of the second half when Owens made a layup down low with 12:05 left for a 41-36 lead.

Thanks to eight straight points from Mercer, UMES tied it up at 41-41 with 10:21 on the clock before Owens hit a pair of shots to give the Spartans the lead back. With a defender right in front of her, Corbo hit a long range shot to get the advantage to six, 52-46, at the 5:11 mark, but NSU was just unable to shake the Hawks.

Owens made another pair of baskets with less than four minutes to go, and Bridges made it 58-52 with a fastbreak at 2:18. UMES, though, tied it up with buckets on their next three possessions before Corbo drained her game-winning shot and was mobbed by teammates on the other side of the half-court line.

Bridges finished with seven points on the night. Gordon and UMES' Shanyce Stewart each had eight rebounds, as UMES held a slim margin on the boards, 37-36. The Hawks had a 6-0 advantage in blocks.

NSU will host Howard Monday at 6 p.m. at Echols Hall to complete the three-game homestand.