Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, March 2 as they take on Bethune-Cookman at Joseph Echols Hall. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. This is the first of three home games the Spartans have remaining in regular season play.
Media Coverage: The game against Bethune-Cookman will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats can be found here. Live audio will also be available here.
Last Time Out: Junior Aivah Parham tallied 15 points and eight rebounds but it was not enough as the Norfolk State women's basketball team fell to Delaware State, 58-48, on Feb. 23 at Memorial Hall in Dover, Del. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 0-13 record on the road.
DSU shot 34.0 (18-of-53) percent on the afternoon. Tasia Bristow was the only Lady Hornet to score in double-figures and she led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Tierra Hawkins added nine points and three rebounds, respectively.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 32.8 (19-of-58) percent from the field. Parham led NSU with 15 points and eight rebounds. Aside from Parham, two other Spartans finished the game scoring in double-figures including junior Rachel Gordon, who posted her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Recca Trice added 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, respectively.
NSU outrebounded Delaware State 43-39, while Delaware State outscored the Spartans off turnovers, 24-8.
All-Time Series: Bethune-Cookman leads the series with NSU, 12-11.
About Bethune-Cookman: Bethune-Cookman (12-13, 7-6) is coming off of a 67-53 win over Savannah State on Feb. 25 at Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Lady Wildcats shot 51.1 (23-of-45) percent from the field on the night while holding SSU to 30.6 (19-of-62) percent shooting. B-CU had three players reach double-figures, including Chastity René Taylor, who led all scorers with 27 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Amanda Hairston tallied 14 points and eight rebounds, while Shakeyia Colyer added 12 points, respectively.
Jasmine Norman led the Lady Tigers in scoring as she posted the only double-double of the night with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Erin Hogue was just shy of a double-double as she finished the night with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Lady Wildcats outscored SSU in the paint, 30-18. B-CU also outrebounded the Lady Tigers, 42-38.
Last Time Against Bethune-Cookman: Rae Corbo posted 10 points as the Spartans downed Bethune-Cookman, 51-41, in the first game of the women's tournament at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 5, 2012.
No. 9 seed NSU held No. 8 seed Bethune-Cookman to just 26.3 percent shooting for the day. The last team to score 41 or fewer points against the Spartans was B-CU on Feb. 7, 2005, a 72-41 win for NSU.
The victory propelled NSU to the quarterfinal round, where the Spartans fell to the top seed in the tournament, Hampton, 61-40.
Thanks to its stout defense, NSU was able to capture a tournament win for the first time since 2007, a first-round victory over UMES.
NSU hit 15-of-24 from the free throw line, while Bethune-Cookman only attempted 12 shots from the charity stripe for the game. The Wildcats held the Spartans to a 0-of-5 effort from the 3-point line.
Jalisa Isaac and Cleniece Roberts had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Wildcats
Scoring Leaders: Rachel Gordon leads NSU in scoring averaging 10.8 points per game followed by Aivah Parham, who is averaging 8.8 points per game.
Parham Stepping Up: Aivah Parham led NSU in scoring against Delaware State on Feb. 23 as she finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds. This was the ninth time this season she posted double-figures. Parham also posted a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds in the Spartans 81-68 victory over Morgan State on Jan. 21. The game against Morgan State marked her first career double-double.
Double-Doubling: Rachel Gordon tallied her sixth double-double of the season in the game against Delaware State on Feb. 23 as she came away with 11 points and 11 rebounds. This was Gordon's 15th double-double of her career.
Winning the Rebounding Battle: NSU outrebounded Delaware State, 43-39, on Feb. 23, with Rachel Gordon leading the way with 11 rebounds.
Owning the Paint: NSU outscored Delaware State in the paint, 20-18, on Feb. 23. Last season NSU dominated the inside scoring, averaging 6.8 more points in the paint per game. Only Monmouth, Howard, Hampton (first meeting) and Bethune-Cookman (first meeting) scored more points in the paint than NSU in a game last year.
Defensive Minded: Rachel Gordon tallied 11 rebounds in the Spartans 58-48 loss to Delaware State on Feb. 23. Gordon currently leads the MEAC in rebounding, averaging 10.5 rebounds per game.
MEAC, NCAA Leaderboard: As a team NSU currently ranks in the top 5 in four 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 10.5 boards per game. Gordon also currently ranks 27th in the NCAA in rebounding. Recca Trice is second in the league for assists and is ranked 28th in the nation in assists per game.
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 134 assists on the season and her 466 career assists puts her one 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 221 rebounds on the season and her 688 career rebounds puts her 23 away from tying Andrea Watts for 10th all-time.
