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NORFOLK, Va. - Coming off one of the program's best seasons in the past 10 years, the Norfolk State women's basketball team kicks off its 2012-13 season on Friday against the University of Pennsylvania at Joseph Echols Hall. This will be the first of three straight home games to start the season for the Spartans.
Media Coverage: Live stats and a live video stream will be available for the game. Ross Gordon will provide play-by-play commentary with the video feed.
Full 2012-13 Season Outlook
After showing more signs of a program turnaround during the 2011-12 season, head coach Debra Clark and her staff have their sights set on taking the next step forward this season. As coach Clark and her Spartans enter year four with her first recruiting class now seniors, she's expecting them to perform on a consistent basis every night and continue to improve on the number of wins from the previous year. With 10 of last year's 12 letterwinners back, the Spartans are expecting to move up in the MEAC standings this season.
Coming off a 12-17 season, NSU will use a favorable schedule – five home games in November and December – and that returnee experience to get the ball rolling in non-conference play and build momentum for the MEAC schedule.
“We want to give a solid defensive effort every night as a team. I expect our veteran players to step up and provide productivity and leadership all season,” said Clark. “We're also looking to improve our consistency and play well the entire 40 minutes. We let too many games get away from us last year.”
Returnees
Seniors Marian Brooks (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge HS), Batavia Owens (Norfolk, Va./Maury HS), and Recca Trice (Arlington, Texas/Juan Seguin HS) will provide a lot of the veteran experience for the Spartans this season. Brooks averaged 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.2 minutes of action per game. Owens ranked second on the team in rebounding and fourth in scoring with 6.4 rebounds and 7.4 points per game.
Trice finished third in the MEAC in 2011-12 with 4.7 assists per game and fifth in assist-turnover ratio at 1.19. She also set the NSU record for assists in a single game (14), and was third in assists for a single season (both D-I only). Trice heads into the 2012-13 campaign seventh at NSU with 332 career assists.
“Recca's main responsibility will be to run the offense, take care of the ball and distribute to teammates where they can be successful,” Clark said. “I look forward to consistent productivity and execution throughout the season.”
Junior Rae Corbo (Englewood, N.J./Paramus Catholic HS) finished second on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.6 points per game. She also finished fifth in free throw percentage in the MEAC in 2011-12. Corbo finished fifth last year in the NSU record book for free throw percentage in a single season (D-I only) at 78.0 percent and ranks second all-time in free throw percentage (76.0 percent). Classmate Rachel Gordon (Woodbridge, Va./Osbourn Park HS) led the MEAC and finished 16th in the nation in rebounding last season as well with 10.4 rebounds per game.
Sophomores Ebony Brown (Atlanta, Ga. / Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy), Quineshia Leonard (Suffolk, Va./Hampton HS), Jazamine Gray (Wendell, N.C./East Wake HS) and Ashley Dillard (Newport News, Va./Woodside HS) all are looking to take the next step in their development this year.
Backcourt
For the fourth year in a row Trice will man the point guard position for NSU with Gray now serving as her backup. Last season Gray saw limited action as a walk-on, but the scholarship sophomore will be asked to provide more minutes behind Trice this year.
Corbo will be the centerpiece to the shooting guard spot after taking over for departed senior Whitney Long, who led NSU in scoring last year with 13.9 points per game. Corbo had 18 games in double figures last year, including six in a row in January, and is more than capable of putting up big numbers each and every game.
Brown is one of NSU's true wings who is expected to do more now that Tyisha Bridges is gone. Brown averaged 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game last season and showed flashes of her scoring ability at various times during the year.
The coaching staff is high on a pair of junior college transfers, juniors Aivah Parham (Baltimore, Md./Monroe CC (NY)) and Kashay Barnes (Frederick, Md./Monroe CC (NY)). Parham is a strong perimeter player who can create shots for herself and finish well in transition. Barnes is capable of playing all three guard positions and is expected to provide NSU with plenty of scoring.
Walk-on Janel Cannon (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River HS) is an athletic player with a shooter's touch, said Clark. She will add more depth on the perimeter on both offense and defense.
Frontcourt
NSU welcomes back a strong group of frontcourt players led by the trio of Owens, Brooks and Gordon. In addition to leading the team in rebounding, all three shot better than 43 percent from the floor and combined for nearly 19 points per game.
Gordon will start at the power forward position for the Spartans, while Owens will again take control of the center position. A post player her first three years here, Brooks will be moved out to the wing at times this year by the coaching staff. After leading the conference in rebounding, Gordon is expected to add more scoring to her overall game this year, while the coaches want to see Owens be more consistent and stay out of foul trouble.
Leonard averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game and will challenge Owens for playing time at center. Much like Brown, Leonard showed flashes of brilliance last year and will aim for more consistent play from game to game.
Those four will be pushed by 6-foot freshman Tamara Majette (Woodbridge, Va./Hylton HS) and transfer Kristian Parker (Waterbury, Conn. /NJIT). Majette brings athleticism to the post position and, much like Gordon, is a solid rebounder. After sitting out the 2011-12 season, Parker will add a strong defensive presence for the Spartans down low.
Dillard played in five games last season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 4.2 minutes of action per game, and adds more depth to the frontcourt rotation.
The Schedule
The Spartans open their season with three home games against Penn, USC-Upstate and Texas Southern. NSU will be on the road for nearly the entire month of December, beginning with a trip to Savannah State and South Carolina State for the first MEAC games of the year December 1 and 3. NSU also plays non-conference opponents Radford (Dec. 16) and UNC Greensboro (Dec. 15) on the road and Chowan (Dec. 19) at home prior to the full start of conference play.
“We're very excited about playing at home early,” stated Clark. “We'll find out where we are as a team before hitting the road for some key conference and non-conference games. It will allow us to build some confidence before heading into conference play.”
Other non-conference away games include a trip to play East Carolina and Appalachian State for the ECU Pirate Invitational in a two-day span at the end of November. NSU will also participate in the Cavalier Classic on Dec. 28 and 29 at Virginia before traveling to Hofstra on Jan. 3.
The Spartans will travel to UMES and Howard on Jan. 12 and14 before hosting a trio of games against Coppin State, Morgan State and Hampton on Jan. 19, 21 and 26. After heading to Coppin State and Morgan State to open the month of February, NSU will host Delaware State and UMES Feb. 9 and 11. The Spartans will complete their road trek with games at Hampton and Delaware State Feb. 18 and 23.
NSU will wrap up its regular season at home with games against Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T. The MEAC Championship is set for March 11-16 in Norfolk, Va.
