Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball is looking for its first win over Hampton in six years when they take on the Lady Pirates on Monday, Feb. 18 at the Hampton University Convocation Center in Hampton, Va. Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.
Media Coverage: The game against UMES will be televised live on ESPNU. The game will also be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will be available here. Live audio will also be available here.
Last Time Out: Junior Rachel Gordon posted her second consecutive double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift NSU over UMES, 54-51, on Feb. 11 at Joseph Echols Hall in Norfolk, Va.
The Spartans improved to 5-17 overall and 3-8 in the MEAC while UMES dropped to 6-14 on the season and 2-6 in the conference.
NSU finished the game shooting 43.4 (23-of-53) percent from the field. Aside from Gordon, sophomore Ebony Brown was the only other Spartan to score in double-figures. Brown finished the night with 10 points and four rebounds.
The Spartans held UMES to 23.7 (14-of-59) percent shooting on the night. This was the Spartans first time holding an opponent under 30.0 percent shooting since March 5, 2012, when they played Bethune-Cookman. Karona Roach led the Lady Hawks' effort with 19 points and three rebounds. Sha-Kiyla Finney also contributed with 10 points and three rebounds, respectively.
NSU outscored UMES in the paint, 32-16 while the Lady Hawks outrebounded the Spartans 41-38.
Losing Streak, Goodbye: With the wins against Delaware State and UMES, NSU picked up its first MEAC weekend sweep since Jan. 28-30, 2006, at home against N.C. A&T and S.C. State.
Combined with the wins over Delaware State and UMES by the NSU men's team last weekend, you have to go back to Dec. 2006-Jan. 2007 to find the last time both teams defeated the same two MEAC opponents in a row, home or away. And for good measure, the last time both NSU squads swept a weekend series at Echols Hall occurred Jan. 11-13, 2003, against Coppin State and Morgan State.
All-Time Series: Hampton leads the series with NSU, 49-35. The Spartans have not won against Hampton since Dec. 2, 2006.
About Hampton: Hampton (19-5, 10-0) is coming off of a 75-56 win over Delaware State on Feb. 11 at the Hampton University Convocation Center in Hampton, Va. The Lady Pirates shot 47.3 (26-of-55) percent from the field on the night while holding DSU to 45.3 (24-of-53) percent shooting. Hampton had five players scoring in double-figures, including Alyssa Bennett, who led all scorers with 21 points and five rebounds. Keiara Avant tallied 20 points and five rebounds while JoNiquia Guilford added 12 points. Nicole Hamilton posted 11 points and 13 assists, and Olivia Allen contributed 10 points, respectively.
Last Time Against Hampton: Aivah Parham led the Norfolk State women's basketball team with 12 points and five rebounds but it was not enough as the Spartans suffered a 76-41 loss to Hampton on Jan. 26 in Joseph Echols Hall. NSU hasn't defeated the Lady Pirates in six years.
Hampton held the Spartans to just 28.6 (16-of-56) percent shooting on the afternoon. Aside from Parham, Rachel Gordon was the only other NSU player in double-figures as she finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds.
The Lady Pirates shot 42.4 (25-of-59) percent from the field. Four Hampton players reached double-figures including Olivia Allen, who led all scorers with 22 points. Keiara Avant posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Alyssa Bennett also had 15 points while Nicole Hamilton was just shy of a double-double as she finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Hampton outrebounded NSU 43-32 and outscored the Spartans 22-20 in the paint. The Lady Pirates also outscored NSU 9-6 on second chance points.
Scoring Leaders: Rachel Gordon leads NSU in scoring averaging 11.0 points per game followed by Aivah Parham, who is averaging 8.5 points per game.
Double-Doubling: Rachel Gordon had her second consecutive double-double in the game against UMES on Feb. 11. This was Gordon's fifth double-double of the season and the 14th double-double of her career.
MEAC, NCAA Leaderboard: As a team NSU currently ranks in the top 5 in six different categories in the MEAC, while NSU players also rank in the top 5 in six different categories, including Rachel Gordon, who leads the league in rebounding at 10.7 boards per game. Gordon also currently ranks 24th in the NCAA in rebounding. Recca Trice is second in the league for assists and is ranked 27th in the nation in assists per games.
Trice on the Move: Recca Trice's eight assists in the game against Morgan State on Feb. 4 moved her into fourth place all-time in the NSU record book for career assists. Trice has 127 assists on the season and her 459 career assists puts her eight away from tying Sharron Tapps for third all-time.
Cracking the top 10: Rachel Gordon's eight rebounds in the game against Coppin State on Jan. 19 moved her into 11th place all-time in the NSU record book for career rebounds. Gordon has 204 rebounds on the season and her 671 career rebounds puts her 40 away from tying Andrea Watts for 10th all-time.
Winning the Rebounding Battle: NSU outrebounded Delaware State, 40-28, on Feb. 9, with Rachel Gordon leading the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Defensive Minded: Rachel Gordon tallied 12 rebounds in the Spartans 54-51 win over UMES on Feb. 11. Gordon currently leads the MEAC in rebounding, averaging 10.7 rebounds per game.
