Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
NORFOLK, Va. - Head coach Debra Clark and the Norfolk State women's basketball team will open MEAC play on Thursday night against Florida A&M. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.
Media Coverage: The game will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will be available here. Live video and audio will also be available here.
All-Time Series: FAMU leads the series with NSU, 20-5.
Last Time Out: Senior Rachel Gordon tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Norfolk State women's basketball team fell to UTSA in overtime, 72-63, on Saturday night at the Convocation Center in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic. This was the first overtime game of the season for the Spartans.
Junior Ebony Brown nailed a jumper with three seconds left to send NSU into overtime with UTSA tied at 58. She finished the game with 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
NSU and UTSA traded buckets in the first two possessions of overtime as Mannasha Bell scored in the paint for the Roadrunners and Powell made a layup with 4:09 left to tie the game at 60.
The Roadrunners proved to be too much for the Spartans as Mathilde Hergott scored on a layup to cap a 12-0 run to make the score 72-60 with 42 seconds to go in overtime. NSU's last field-goal of the game came was on a 3-pointer from freshman Kieera Basey.
NSU finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) and was 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the free throw line. The Spartans did not take a free throw shot in the second half or overtime.
Gordon was also named to the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament team.
About FAMU: FAMU (5-3) is coming off of a 101-66 loss to Stetson on Monday night at the Al Lawson Center.
The Lady Rattlers shot only 27.6 percent (24-of-87) from the floor and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the free-throw line.
Jasmine Grice led FAMU with 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kimberly Sparkman also scored in double-figures, finishing the game with 13 points and four assists.
Last Time Against FAMU: NSU claimed a 72-55 victory over Florida A&M in the opening round of the 2013 MEAC Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena on March 12. Previously, NSU's last win over FAMU came during the 2005 tournament, where NSU claimed a 52-47 victory in the semifinals.
The Spartans shot 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the floor while holding FAMU to just 24.7 percent (18-of-73) shooting on the afternoon. Ebony Brown led the way with 23 points. Aside from Brown, NSU had three other players score in double-figures, including Batavia Owens, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Rachel Gordon tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while Quineshia Leonard posted 10 points and nine rebounds.
NSU dominated in the paint, outscoring FAMU, 36-12. The Spartans tied their season high with 21 assists.
Scoring Leaders: Rae Corbo leads NSU in scoring averaging 13.7 points per game followed by Ebony Brown and Quineshia Leonard, who are averaging 9.8 points per game.
Winning the Rebounding Battle: The Spartans outrebounded UTSA, 40-36.
Owning the Paint: NSU outscored UTSA in the paint, 40-32.
Moving Up the Charts: Rachel Gordon moved into 8th place all-time in career rebounding at NSU after posting a career-high 26 rebounds against UTPA. She now has 808 total rebounds.
Stephanie Palmer was the last NSU women's basketball player to post at least 26 rebounds in a game. She tallied 26 against John C. Smith on Dec. 7, 1989.
NCAA, MEAC Leaderboard: Rachel Gordon currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in rebounds per game (15.0 rebounds per game) and Rae Corbo is No. 56 in free throw percentage (80.8 %).
As a team NSU currently ranks in the top 5 in 11 different categories in the MEAC, while NSU players rank in the top 5 in five different categories, including Rachel Gordon, who leads the league in rebounds, averaging 15.0 rebounds per game.
