Game Notes | Live Stats
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will travel to Princess Anne, Md., to resume MEAC play against Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.
Media Coverage: The game against UMES will be broadcast on WNSB Hot 91.1 with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will be available here.
All-Time Series: NSU leads the series with UMES, 21-13. Last season the Spartans were 1-1 against the Hawks. On Jan. 12 UMES defeated NSU in overtime, 86-80. In the second meeting, the Spartans claimed a 54-51 victory over the Hawks on Feb. 11.
Last Time Out: Redshirt junior Rae Corbo scored 15 points but it was not enough as the Norfolk State women's basketball team suffered a 79-49 loss on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa.
The loss marks the second time this season that the Spartans (5-8, 1-1) have lost a game by 30 or more points. NSU fell to James Madison, 94-50, on Dec. 30.
The Spartans' only lead was at the 19:00 mark as senior Rachel Gordon knocked down a jumper give NSU a 2-0 lead. NSU kept the game within three points in the first half after a layup by junior Quineshia Leonard with 14:48 on the clock as the Spartans trailed Penn, 10-7.
NSU went into halftime trailing Penn, 40-15. This was the second consecutive game that NSU has scored less than 20 points in a half. The Spartans scored only 17 points in the first half against James Madison.
Penn finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field and was 25.0 percent (6-of-24) from 3-point range. The Quakers also outscored NSU off turnovers 18-12.
NSU shot 29.2 percent (19-of-65) on the afternoon and was 25.0 percent (2-of-8) from behind the arc. The Spartans also shot 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from the free throw line. Corbo was the only Spartan to score in double-figures. Junior Jazamine Gray had eight points, two assists and one steal. Senior Rachel Gordon finished with six points and seven rebounds. Gordon's seven rebounds moved her into sixth all-time in career rebounding at NSU.
About UMES: The Lady Hawks (3-10, 0-2) fell to Savannah State, 63-46 on Jan. 4 at Tiger Arena in Savannah, Ga. Ashleigh Claybrooks scored a team-high 13 points off the bench while grabbing five boards. Jessica Long chipped in nine points in a losing effort.
UMES shot only 26.5 percent (13-of-49) from the field, which included 23.5 percent (4-of-17) 3-point shooting. UMES also shot 16-of-30 from the free throw line.
Other notable Hawk performances included Shawnee Sweeney and Taryana Kelly, who each posted six points, while Shanyce Stewart registered a season-high eight points, including two triples, and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Long leads UMES in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game. Sweeney also averages in double figures with 11.1 points, while Alexis Udoji adds 8.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Stewart grabs a team leading 9.8 rebounds for a UMES squad that ranks third in the MEAC in rebounding margin.
The Hawks struggle on offense, though, shooting just 31 percent from the field.
Last Year Against UMES: In the first meeting with UMES, the Spartans suffered an 86-80 in overtime loss at the W.P. Hytche Center in Princess Anne, Md.
Recca Trice missed a free throw with 1.1 seconds left in regulation to send the Spartans and the Hawks into overtime tied at 66. NSU shot 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the line on the afternoon and shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the field. Kashay Barnes led the scoring effort for NSU with 25 points. Rachel Gordon contributed 17 points and eight boards. Ebony Brown posted 14 points while Trice finished with 13 points and eight assists.
In the second meeting, UMES would not go down without a fight as Shawnee Sweeney nailed a 3-pointer to cap a 22-4 run with 27 seconds left in the game, but it was not enough as NSU survived a late second half run to claim a 54-51 victory on Feb. 11 at Joseph Echols Hall. Rachel Gordon led NSU as she tallied her second consecutive double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
NSU held UMES to 23.7 percent (14-of-59) 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 with 19 points and three rebounds. Sha-Kiyla Finney was the only other UMES player to score in double-figures as she finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds.
The Spartans shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field. Aside from Gordon, Ebony Brown also finished the night scoring in double-figures with 10 points and four rebounds. NSU outscored UMES in the paint, 32-16, while the Lady Hawks outrebounded the Spartans 41-38.
Scoring Leaders: Rae Corbo leads NSU in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game followed by Rachel Gordon, who is averaging 10.9 points per game. Ebony Brown rounds out the top-three scoring leaders for NSU, averaging 10.2 points per game.
Winning the Rebounding Battle: The Spartans currently rank fourth in the MEAC with 41.6 boards per game.
Moving Up the Charts: Rachel Gordon is in seventh place all-time in career rebounding at NSU with 879 rebounds. Gordon needs five more rebounds to tie Suawana Taylor for sixth place all-time.
Rachel on the Boards: Rachel Gordon had 26 rebounds in NSU's loss to Texas-Pan American on Nov. 29. It was the fifth highest total by an NSU player and a Division I record as well. It was the most rebounds in a game by a Spartan player since Stephanie Palmer had 26 against Johnson C. Smith on Dec. 7, 1989.
Cracking the Top 10: Rae Corbo ranks 12th all-time in career free throws made at NSU with 218. Corbo needs to make only six more to tie Michelle Sessoms for 11th all-time. She only needs nine more to tie Charlette Fayton for 10th all-time.
NCAA, MEAC Leaderboard: Rachel Gordon currently ranks No. 7 in the nation in rebounds per game and Rae Corbo is No. 78 in free throw percentage.
As a team, NSU currently ranks in the top 5 in 12 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 rebounds, averaging 12.4 rebounds per game.
Follow NSU, Coach Clark on Twitter: In addition to its official athletic web site at www.nsuspartans.com, you can also follow NSU athletics on the social networking site Twitter. Log onto www.twitter.com/NSUSpartans and become a follower of the Spartans today to get updates on all things NSU, including updates during games.
Coach Clark is also a part of the Twitter world. Check out www.twitter.com/dclarknsuwbb to hear more from the coach throughout the season.
Follow NSU on YouTube: You can also find the Spartans on YouTube here. Check out highlights from different NSU athletic events as well as interviews with players and coaches after the games.
Throughout the season, you can follow NSU athletics on YouTube with the Spartan Sports Zone. There you can find recaps of games with highlights and interviews with players and coaches. Check back at the YouTube home of NSU Athletics here for more on NSU women's basketball this year.
Follow NSU on Facebook: You can also follow the entire Norfolk State Athletic Department on its Facebook page here.
