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NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team (6-13, 5-3 MEAC) starts a three-game homestand on Saturday when it hosts its rival, the five-time defending MEAC champions from Hampton University (10-10, 6-1) at Echols Hall. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. 

The Spartans enter the contest in a tie for third place in the conference standings, with Hampton alone in first place entering the weekend.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, with Ross Gordon handling play-by-play duties and Terrell Ducre' color analyst responsibility. Links for live audi (free), live video (requires subscription) and live stats can be found at the top of this page.
  
Last Time Out
Jasmine Norman broke a tie by making two free throws with 16 seconds left, and Norfolk State guard Rae Corbo missed a potential tying jumper at the final buzzer as the Spartans fell to host Savannah State, 56-54, on Monday night at Tiger Arena.

The loss was the second in a row for the Spartans (6-13, 5-3 MEAC), who were led by Kayla Roberts' 13 points. 

NSU led 54-53 after a layup by Ronesia Spicer with 2:33 remaining in the game. But that would be NSU's final two points of the night. Norman hit 1-of-2 from the line to tie the game just 11 seconds later. The Spartans came up empty on their final four trips of the night, missing field goals on each trip.

Spartan guard Koryn Lawrence missed a shot that would have given NSU the lead with 26 seconds left, and SSU guard Ezinne Kalu rebounded. Following an SSU timeout with 17 seconds left, the Tigers inbounded to Norman underneath the basket and she drew a foul. 

After Norman hit her two free throws, the Spartans called timeout to set up a final play. But Corbo's long jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.

Scouting Hampton
The Lady Pirates are 10-10 overall, 6-1 in the MEAC following a 35-point win at South Carolina State on Monday (88-53). That win came on the heels of a 61-55 loss at Savannah State last Saturday, which snapped HU's 54-game win streak against MEAC opponents. The Lady Pirates, picked to finish second in the MEAC preseason poll, are led by sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas' 21.2 points per game, which led the MEAC. She scored 37 in the win over SCSU. She also ranks second in the MEAC with 3.1 steals per game.

Tate-DeFreitas is Hampton's only double-figure scorer on the year, though Kyani White averages 9.9, Ryan Jordan is at 8.6 and Kenia Cole is at 8.5.    

All-Time Series vs. Hampton
Hampton leads the all-time series with NSU, 53-35. At 88 meetings, the Spartans have played Hampton 30 times more than their next most common opponent, Virginia Union (58). The Lady Pirates have won 17 in a row in the series dating to a 70-66 NSU win on Dec. 2, 2006 at Echols Hall. 

Dropping the Nail-biters
NSU dropped a pair of tough contests on the road last week, a 79-75 decision at S.C. State and a 56-54 game at Savannah State. The SSU game marked the eighth game NSU has played this year that has been decided by five points or fewer. NSU is 2-6 in those games. The Spartans' three MEAC losses have come by a combined total of eight points.