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NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team (12-14, 11-4 MEAC) wraps up its regular season with a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday night at Hampton (17-11, 13-2). The Spartans have secured a top-four finish in the MEAC regular-season standings, but need either a win over Hampton or a North Carolina A&T loss to secure the third seed and receive a MEAC Tournament bye. NSU is also looking for a season sweep of the Lady Pirates, a feat which NSU hasn't achieved since the 1994-95 season.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM. Links to live statistics, live video and live audio are at the top of the page.

Last Time Out
Rae Corbo scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half to help Norfolk State hold off a late rally and defeat Howard, 63-60, on Monday at Burr Gymnasium. The win was the fourth in a row for the Spartans, matching their longest streak of the season.  
 
The Spartans, who led by five at the half, used a 15-4 burst in the second half to open up what seemed like a comfortable 52-36 advantage with 8:32 left. But Howard rallied, using an 8-0 run to get back within three with 3:03 left. Howard post player Victoria Gonzales hit 1-of-2 at the line to bring her team within 58-56 with 1:18 remaining.

But Corbo took over, scoring the Spartans' last five points. She scored on a layup with 43 seconds to push the lead to four, and after a Sydni Johnson free throw for Howard, Corbo went 2-of-2 at the line with 19 seconds remaining to make it 62-57.

Howard had one last gasp. Cheyenne Brown hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left, and Corbo split a pair of foul shots. But Imani Bailey's last-second 3-point attempt wasn't close, and the Spartans held on.

Kayla Roberts had 14 points and seven rebounds and Koryn Lawrence added 10 points.

Scouting Hampton
The Lady Pirates can wrap up the outright MEAC regular-season title with a win over NSU or a Savannah State loss on Thursday. The Lady Pirates have won seven straight since their loss to NSU on Jan. 31. HU has the MEAC's leading scorer in Malia Tate-DeFreitas, who averages 22.3 points per game. Guard Kyani White averages 10.8. Hampton leads the MEAC in scoring offense (65.3 ppg) and is third in scoring defense (59.7). Freshman forward Kayla Lupoe has averaged 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in her last three games.
                
All-Time Series vs. Hampton
Hampton leads the all-time series with NSU, 53-36. At 89 meetings, the Spartans have played Hampton 31 times more than their next most common opponent, Virginia Union (58). NSU snapped a 17-game losing streak to HU with its 71-66 overtime win on Jan. 31. The last time the Spartans beat HU more than one time in a season came in 2001-02, when NSU won two of the three meetings (including a win in the MEAC Tournament final). The last time the Spartans swept the regular-season series from Hampton was in 1994-95, when both were in the CIAA.

Last Meeting
Kayla Roberts registered career highs of 26 points and 25 rebounds to lead the Norfolk State women's basketball team to its first win over rival Hampton in more than eight years 71-66 in overtime before a season-high crowd of 2,496 at Echols Hall on Jan. 31.

Roberts outscored Hampton by herself in the OT, accounting for five of the Spartans' six points in the extra session. NSU, which snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Lady Pirates, held Hampton without a field goal in the extra session (0-for-7).

Hampton guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas hit a free throw with 3:24 left in OT to give Hampton a 66-65 edge. Roberts answered with a layup 23 seconds later to give the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish. She then sealed it by going 2-of-2 from the line with 16 seconds left, giving NSU a four-point lead at 70-66.

Rae Corbo added 22 points for NSU. Tate-DeFreitas also had 22 but was just 8-of-32 from the floor. Kyani White also scored 22 for the Lady Pirates.

What's at Stake
Seedings for the MEAC Tournament are still up for grabs entering Thursday's regular-season finales across the league. NSU is still in contention for a top-three seed and first-round tournament bye, but NSU must beat Hampton or have N.C. A&T lose to N.C. Central Thursday. The Spartans and N.C. A&T are currently tied for the third at 11-4, and NSU owns the tie-breaker over the Aggies. Hampton can win the MEAC regular-season title outright with a win over NSU, but could drop to the No. 2 seed if the Spartans and Savannah State both win. SSU is 12-3 and owns the tie-breaker over HU.

NSU Breaking Through
The Spartans are currently enjoying their most success since the MEAC championship season of 2001-02. More on NSU's season so far:
• NSU clinched its first winning MEAC record since 2001-02 (13-5) with its win over Coppin State on Feb. 21. Last year's 8-8 MEAC mark was the program's best – and first non-losing MEAC record – since the 2004-05 team went 9-9. 
• This year marks just the third time NSU has had a double-figure victory total in a MEAC season, joining 2001-02 (13-5) and 1999-2000 (12-6).
• NSU is assured of its highest MEAC Tournament seeding since 2001-02, when the Spartans were seeded third. Last year's No. 6 seed was NSU's highest seeding since the '01-'02 year.
• One more win will give NSU 13 total victories this year, again their most since 2001-02 (22-9).