Saturday
The Game: Delaware State at NSU, 4 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: WNSB Hot 91.1
Live Audio | Live Stats | Live Audio/Video | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartans will honor their two seniors in the last home game of the season as the Norfolk State women's basketball team takes on Delaware State Saturday at 4 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.
NSU ran away from DSU in the first meeting in Delaware, 84-66, on Feb. 4, snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Hornets. DSU still leads the all-time series, though, 21-13.
Prior to the contest, NSU will honor its two seniors, Whitney Long and Tyisha Bridges, for their contributions to the program over the last four years.
Media Coverage: The game can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, with Joe Cook and Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats and a live video feed will be available for the game, and the video feed will carry the radio broadcast as well.
Last Time Out: Hampton pulled away from NSU late in the second half in a 68-46 win over the Spartans last Saturday at Echols Hall. Choicetta McMillian and Melanie Warner combined for 49 points on 17-of-32 shooting, while the rest of the team hit just 7-of-33.
Tyisha Bridges was the only player for NSU in double figures with 11, while Whitney Long added nine points and Batavia Owens contributed eight points and nine rebounds. NSU connected on 43.9 percent for the game, compared to 36.9 percent for Hampton. The Pirates connected on 11-of-27 from 3-point range.
Bridges Steps Up: Tyisha Bridges has made the most of her first three starts of the season in the last three games, tying her career high with 18 points at Delaware State Feb. 4 and adding 12 points and 11 points the next two games for her first three games in double figures on the season. She has shot a combined 13-of-31 from the floor and 15-of-17 from the free throw line with 10 rebounds in those three games. The 41-point effort is the second best three-game stretch of her career after a 42-point outburst her freshman year.
March to 1,000: Whitney Long became the 20th player all-time at NSU with 1,000 career points after draining a 3-pointer in the first half against Delaware State. She has reached double digits in scoring in 17 of 23 games this season, and at her current pace she could finish as high as 14th all-time in scoring at NSU by the end of the season. She currently ranks 16th in career scoring and needs 75 more points to move into a tie for 15th.
Defensive Minded: Rachel Gordon has tallied double-digit efforts in rebounds in 14 of the team's 23 games this year. Dating back to last season, Gordon has posted 10 or more rebounds in 17 of the last 28 games. Gordon ranked 20th in the nation in rebounding heading into the week and first in the MEAC. She is one of 25 players in the nation averaging double-digit rebounds.
Ending Some Losing Streaks: Heading into the season, NSU had lost at least six games in a row to seven different MEAC opponents. So far, the Spartans have been able to cross UMES and Delaware State off that list. The Hawks saw their six-game win streak over NSU come to an end on Jan. 7, while Delaware State saw its 11-game win streak over NSU fall on Feb. 4.
Winning the Rebounding Battle: NSU outrebounded its first six opponents of the season and has held the edge in 13 games overall. So far this year, the Spartans are outrebounding their opponents by 1.4 boards per game, a +2.9 difference from a season ago.
Cracking the top 10: #Recca Trice# moved into eighth place all-time in the NSU record book for career assists during the contest at Hampton, and her 308 career helpers now puts her two away from tying LaMonica Filer for seventh all time. In addition, Whitney Long now sits alone in third place all-time in career treys and 17th in career field goals made (See Page 5).
MEAC, NCAA Leaderboard: As a team NSU ranks in the top 5 in nine different categories in the MEAC, while NSU players rank in the top 5 in seven different categories, including Rachel Gordon, who leads the league in rebounding at 10.2 boards per game. In addition, Batavia Owens leads all MEAC players with a 55.2 field goal percentage.
Heading into the week, Gordon ranked 20th in the nation in rebounding. As a team, NSU is ranked better nationally than last year in all categories except scoring defense and 3-point field goals per game.
Gordon Named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week: Rachel Gordon earned the league's MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Feb. 6 after averaging 14.0 rebounds in two games the previous week, including her 21-rebound effort against Coppin State.
Up Next: NSU will hit the road for the rest of the season, beginning with a trip to Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M on Feb. 25 and 27.
