This Weekend's Schedule
Monday: NSU at Bethune-Cookman, 2 p.m., Moore Gymnasium
Monday: NSU at Florida A&M, 5:30 p.m., Alfred Lawson Center
Radio: WNSB Hot 91.1 (Live on Saturday; Tape-Delayed Until After the Men's Game Monday)
Live Stats (B-CU) | Live Stats (FAMU) | Live Video (B-CU) | Live Video (FAMU) | Live Audio (WNSB) | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - It's all road trips from here on out for the Norfolk State women's basketball team, beginning with Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at Moore Gymnasium at 2 p.m.. The winner will take possession of eighth place in the league with the potential to move up past several other teams in the standings before the year is out.
NSU will then head to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on first-place Florida A&M Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The Wildcats eked out a win over the Spartans last year at Echols Hall, 52-50. Bethune-Cookman now leads the all-time series, 12-11, and has won five in a row over the Spartans. FAMU has dominated the series with NSU, 18-4, including 15 wins in the last 16 meetings.
Media Coverage: The game against Bethune-Cookman can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, with Ross Gordon on the call. The contest against FAMU will be tape delayed until after the men's game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Live stats will be available against Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, while a live video feed will be available for both B-CU and FAMU as well.
Last Time Out: Down 20 in the second half on Senior Day, Whitney Long tallied 25 second-half points to help lead NSU to an overtime victory, 78-73, over Delaware State at Echols Hall on Saturday. Long scored 27 all-together on 10-of-21 shooting to propel the Spartans to double digit wins on the season for the first time since 2004-05. The game featured 10 lead changes and 14 score ties.
Long tied her career high with seven steals, while Batavia Owens contributed 16 points and 10 boards on the day. Rae Corbo chipped in with 15 points, including nine in overtime, as NSU overcame a halftime deficit for just the second time on the year. The team's other senior, Tyisha Bridges, scored nine in her final home goodbye.
Big Second Half: Senior guard Whitney Long had 25 second-half points in a comeback win over Delaware State Feb. 18, the first time in three years a player reached double-digit points in a half. Marquilla Evans had 24 points in the first half of a loss to North Carolina A&T on March 5, 2009. So far this season, Long has scored 199 of her 332 points on the season (59.9 percent) either in the second half or overtime.
Long Named MEAC Player of the Week: For her 27-point effort in leading NSU to a come-from-behind win, Whitney Long was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Feb. 20. The senior guard missed her first six shots of the game against Delaware State on Feb. 18 but still finished 10-of-21 from the floor. She tied her career high with seven steals and also added a pair of assists.
Bridges Steps Up: #Tyisha Bridges# has made the most of her first four starts of the season in the last four games, scoring 12.5 points per game over that time. She tied her career high with 18 points at Delaware State Feb. 4, and she has shot a combined 17-of-37 from the floor and 15-of-17 from the free throw line during the four-game stretch.
Another Goal Crossed Off the List: For just the second time in 10 season, NSU reached double digits in wins after the overtime victory against Delaware State. Since winning the MEAC title in 2002, NSU has reached 10 or more victories in just two seasons - this year and in 2004-05 (12-18).
That Pesky Halftime Deficit: NSU erased a nine-point halftime deficit against Delaware State, just the second time this season the Spartans have come back to win after being down at the break. NSU stands 8-3 on the season when either tied or leading at the half but just 2-11 when trailing.
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 at Delaware State on Feb. 4. She has reached double digits in scoring in 18 of 24 games this season. She currently ranks 16th in career scoring and needs 48 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 24 games this year. Dating back to last season, Gordon has posted 10 or more rebounds in 17 of the last 29 games. Gordon ranked 23rd in the nation in rebounding heading into the week and first in the MEAC. She is one of 24 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.
Coppin State, Howard, Hampton, North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M each own an active seven-games-or-more win streak against NSU. The Spartans ended an eight-game losing streak to Morgan State last year.
NSU broke a 40-game road conference losing streak with its win over Morgan State on Jan. 14. Before that, NSU's last win on the road in MEAC play occurred Jan. 3, 2007 in a 69-59 win at UMES. The Spartans had won eight MEAC games at home since their last road conference win.
The Crowd Goes Wild: The yearly Battle of the Bay attracted a crowd of 2,255 on Feb. 11 at Echols Hall, the biggest home crowd since Feb. 26, 2000, when 3,412 people came out to see the first Battle of the Bay of the new century.
Cracking the top 10: #Recca Trice# recently moved into seventh place all-time in the NSU record book for career assists during the Feb. 18 contest against Delaware State. Her 312 career helpers now puts her 45 away from tying Kiersten Portlock for sixth all time. Her 116 helpers this season is the fifth-best mark in a season in Division-I history. 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 eight 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 10.1 boards per game. In addition, Batavia Owens leads all MEAC players with a 54.1 field goal percentage.
Heading into the week, Gordon ranked 23rd 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.
Owning the Paint: NSU has dominated the inside scoring, averaging 7.6 more points in the paint per game. Only Monmouth, Howard and Hampton (the first meeting) have scored more points in the paint than NSU in a game this season.
Up Next: NSU will return to Norfolk and then turn right back around to head to North Carolina A&T next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to close out the regular season.
