Box Score PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – UMES ended the second half on a 17-2 run to force overtime, and the Hawks prevailed in the extra session, 62-58, over the Norfolk State women's basketball team Monday evening at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.

NSU (9-13, 4-7 MEAC) had a comfortable 15-point lead midway through the second half and looked to be headed to its second win in a row before UMES (8-13, 5-4) stormed back. The Hawks held the Spartans to just one field goal in the last 10 minutes of regulation, and no points in the last six and a half minutes of play, giving UMES just enough time to mount a comeback.

Despite that long scoring drought by the Spartans, the Hawks still had to erase a 10-point deficit in the last two minutes of play. Kwinnyata Mercer got things going for UMES with a 3-pointer, and Adobi Agbasi hit a free throw and a layup to get the Hawks to within four with 1:28 left. Jessica Long and Chelsea Sanders then hit back-to-back buckets five seconds apart, the latter with just 39.6 seconds left, in between an NSU turnover to tie it up at 52-52.

The Spartans failed to convert on their end of the floor and survived to advance to overtime only after Amber Cook missed both free throws with 3.4 seconds left in the second half. After those two misses, NSU lost control of the ball out of bounds at half court with 0.9 seconds but maintained possession. Recca Trice's heave from out-of-bounds found Whitney Long streaking into the paint. Long caught the pass in the middle of the lane, turned and fired up a shot, which bounced off the rim several times before falling away, sending the contest to overtime.

At that point, UMES had all the momentum, as Sanders, who had a game-high 25 points, completed a 3-point play to open up the scoring in the extra session. Down by six with time ticking away, sophomore Rae Corbo's basket cut the deficit to four, 60-56, and then senior Tyisha Bridges hit a pair of free throws with 49.0 seconds left to get to within two. Sanders, though, again played hero, hitting a jumper with 20.1 seconds to go to ice the win.

Bridges and Long were the only two players in double figures for the Spartans with 12 points each. Trice added nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Rachel Gordon contributed nine points and 11 rebounds on the night.

Agbasi added 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks, while no other UMES player besides Sanders and Agbasi had more than five points. Cook tallied four assists, and Mercer contributed eight boards and two assists but was just 1-of-11 from 3-point range. The Hawks had the rebounding edge for the game, 57-37.

A three by Trice from the left-hand corner gave NSU an early 6-2 lead to start the game, and a short time later Long nailed a trey and sank a deep jumper from the right side to help the Spartans go up by seven, 15-8, at the 12:49 mark.

That basket continued what eventually turned into a big 15-2 run that pushed the lead to the largest of the half, 26-10, with 7:41 to go in the first half. Gordon highlighted that run with a 3-point play, and another trey by Long kept the momentum going for the Spartans. NSU kept UMES without a basket for more than five minutes during that time.

Agbasi ended that drought at 6:11, but Gordon responded with a putback on the other end for a 30-18 Spartan advantage a minute and a half later. UMES went on an 8-2 run near the end of the first half to claw back into the game, but a short jumper by Trice with 13 clicks left on the clock gave the Spartans a 34-24 lead heading into the half.

Early in the second half, Bridges helped keep NSU's lead at double digits with a trio of buckets, the last at 13:59 that made it 44-34 in favor of the Spartans. Long scored again at 12:55, and then Gordon hit a jumper from the right elbow at 10:04 for a 50-35 lead.

From that point on, though, momentum swung completely in favor of the Hawks, who went on their 17-2 run after that Gordon bucket to close out the second half.

UMES hit just 1-of-18 from 3-point range for the game and 22-of-71 overall, a 31.0 shooting percentage. NSU converted 23-of-56 from the floor for the game (41.1 percent), but just 35 percent in the second half.

The Spartans hit just 9-of-19 from the free throw line, while the Hawks shot 17-of-31.

NSU will return to Echols Hall next weekend to take on rival Hampton Saturday at 4 p.m.