Box Score Postgame Press Conference | Coach Dixon-Gordon Radio Interview | Highlights

NORFOLK, Va. – The 2014-15 season hasn't been a smooth one for Norfolk State forward Nia Roberts. But on Thursday, the sophomore started making up for lost time at the perfect time for the Spartans.
 
Playing in just her fourth game following a seven-game absence due to a concussion, Roberts scored a career-high 14 points to go with 10 rebounds to help No. 4 seed Norfolk State (14-15) reach the MEAC tournament semifinals for the first time in 10 years with a 67-55 victory over No. 12 seed Howard on Thursday afternoon at the Scope Arena.
 
Senior guard Rae Corbo shook off a slow start to lead all scorers with 22 points, 17 coming after halftime. But with Corbo going just 1-of-6 in the first half, it was Roberts who gave the team a spark, scoring 10 points on perfect shooting (3-of-3 from the floor, 4-of-4 from the foul line) in the opening period. Roberts' previous career high was 12 points, which she set against South Carolina State on Jan. 26 in the game in which she was injured.
 
Even when some of their shots didn't fall early, the Spartans – as they have much of the season – relied on their stingy defense and strong rebounding. NSU helped force the Lady Bison (4-27) to miss their first 15 shots from the floor as the Spartans scored the game's first 13 points. Howard didn't record its first points until a long jumper by Cheyenne Brown with 10:39 left in the first stanza.
 
Howard hung around for a while, cutting its deficit to 24-16 on a Jasmine Hill layup with 4:20 left in the half. But the Spartans stretched their lead to 15 with a 9-2 run, which included Corbo's first field goal, a 3-pointer, and two baskets from Roberts.
 
Howard, which trailed 35-23 at the half, cut its deficit to eight on three occasions early in the second half. The last of those came on a jumper by Sydni Johnson at the 15:17 mark, which pulled Howard to within 41-33. But that's when Corbo took over, scoring nine consecutive points in her own 9-0 run. She started it with a 3-pointer, hit another long jumper, went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line and scored on a fast-break layup to give the Spartans a 50-33 edge with 10:47 remaining. NSU's defense, meanwhile, held Howard without a point for more than four and a half minutes during that time.
 
NSU led by at least 12 points for the final 14:30 of the game.
 
Corbo finished the day 7-of-17 from the floor, 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-7 from the line. Roberts, the Buffalo transfer who sat out the first semester due to transfer rules, was 5-of-6 from the floor and hit all four of her free throws to finish with her first career double-double. She also had three assists, one block and one steal. Her sister, Kayla Roberts, also hauled in 10 rebounds and Amber Brown chipped in with nine to help NSU to a 54-35 rebounding advantage. NSU is plus-48 in rebounding through its first two games of the tournament.
 
Brown and Imani Bailey led Howard with 15 points apiece. The Lady Bison shot just 32.4 percent from the floor on the day, and just 3-of-15 from 3-point range.
 
NSU will be making its fourth MEAC semifinals appearance all-time on Friday. In each of the previous three instances (2000, '02, '05), the Spartans went on to advance to the tourney championship game. The 2014-15 season also marks the first time that both the NSU men's and women's basketball teams have advanced to the MEAC semifinals in the same season.