Game Notes  |  Live Stats  |  Live Video  |  Live Audio

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team (12-15) opens play in the 2015 MEAC Championship at 11 a.m. Monday against No. 13 seed Delaware State (5-24) in the first game of the tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena. The Spartans just missed out on a top-three regular-season finish which would have given them a first-round bye, while DSU enters the tournament as the lowest seed in the women's bracket. The winner of Monday's game gets two days off before returning to the court Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal against the winner of the No. 5 S.C. State vs. No. 12 Howard matchup.

Media Coverage
Every NSU game in the MEAC Tournament will be broadcast live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon (play-by-play) and Terrell Ducre' (color) on the call. Each game will also be streamed live on ESPN3. Links to live video, audio and stats are at the top of the page.
  
Spartans in the MEAC Tourney
NSU is 14-15 all-time in the MEAC Tournament, with one championship (2002). NSU has reached the MEAC finals on three occasions, losing in 2000 and 2005 and winning the title in 2002. The Spartans are 0-3 in the MEAC Tournament against Monday's opponent, Delaware State. For more on NSU's MEAC Tournament history, see page five. 

Last Time Out
Kaylah Lupoe scored a game-high 20 points and host Hampton's defense limited NSU to 36 percent shooting in a 64-49 Lady Pirates' win on Thursday night.

Rae Corbo paced NSU with 11 points. Kayla Roberts, who played just 21 minutes while batting foul trouble, had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Hampton never trailed in the first half, and the only tie came at 2-all after Roberts hit a pair of free throws early. Later in the half, the Spartans suffered through a field goal drought of more than eight minutes in length as HU extended its lead. Hampton went on a 10-0 run during that stretch, capped by a Tyler Hobgood free throw, to take a 21-8 advantage. The Lady Pirates held NSU to 6-of-25 shooting (24 percent) in the first half and led 28-17 at the break.

A baseline jumper by Roberts 50 seconds into the second half brought NSU within 28-19, but nine points would be as close as the Spartans could get. The Spartans never let the game get away from them, but Hampton shot 53.8 percent in the second half to keep NSU at bay.

Scouting DSU: The Lady Hornets of Delaware State enter the tournament on an eight-game losing streak which led to a 2-14 MEAC regular-season mark, and 5-24 overall record. Each one of the eight losses came by at least 13 points. DSU is led by All-MEAC first-team forward Tierra Hawkins, who has team-high averages of 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

DSU leads the MEAC in field-goal percentage (42.3) and is fourth in scoring (61.8), but allows a MEAC-worst 76.5 points and ranks last in the MEAC in turnovers (20.0 per game).    
    
All-Time Series vs. DSU
DSU leads the all-time series with NSU, 22-17. But the Spartans have won five of the last six meetings in the series, including a 95-55 win in the last matchup. That win was NSU's largest in the all-time series with NSU.

Roberts, Corbo Earn MEAC Postseason Honors: NSU freshman forward Kayla Roberts was named the 2015 MEAC Rookie of the Year, and both she and senior guard Rae Corbo were named to the All-MEAC second team when the league's postseason awards were announced last week.

The 6-1 Roberts, a native of Miami Gardens, Fla., is NSU's first-ever recipient of the MEAC Rookie of the Year award. She averaged 12.4 points (14th in MEAC) and a MEAC-best 9.6 rebounds per game. Roberts registered seven double-doubles in the regular season and was named the conference Rookie of the Week seven times, most of any MEAC player since Saadia Doyle's eight awards in 2009-10. She ranks 19th in the nation in defensive rebounds (7.0) and 50th in total rebounds.

Despite ranking second in the league in scoring (21.1 ppg) and top-15 in five other categories, Corbo settled for an All-MEAC second-team selection. Corbo had 15 20+ point games, including nine against MEAC foes, and led the MEAC in free-throw percentage in the regular season, at 87.9 percent. She was a three-time MEAC Player of the Week winner during the season.

Last Meeting vs. DSU
Rae Corbo scored a game-high 28 points to lead four Spartans in double figures as the Spartans cruised to a 95-55 win over Delaware State at Echols Hall on Feb. 23, NSU's most lopsided win over a Division I team since its MEAC championship season of 2001-02.

The Spartans came out on fire, jumping out to a 17-0 lead four minutes into the game. Corbo, who hit her first six shots from the floor, scored 10 points in the first 2:55 of the game. Koryn Lawrence's three-point play with 15:58 on the clock put NSU ahead 17-0.

The Spartans used a 12-0 run later in the period to take a 31-5 lead with 10:50 left in the half. The lead swelled to as large as 36 in the first half.

NSU led by as many as 48 points in the second half, its largest lead over an opponent this season. The Spartans managed to score their most points against a Division I team since a 97-62 win over South Carolina State on Jan. 9, 1999. The 40-point margin of win was NSU's largest since an 86-46 victory over Morgan State on Feb. 4, 2002.

NSU also had a season-high 21 assists against a season-low six turnovers against DSU.

All Tournament Games on ESPN3
For the first time ever, all MEAC Tournament games will be streamed live on ESPN3, ESPN's live sports broadband network. It is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection/cable subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is available in over 70 million homes as well as approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. Fans can also get ESPN3 on Apple and Android mobile devices. In addition, the MEAC championship game will air on ESPN3 on a tape-delay basis at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 15. Log onto www.watchespn.com for more information.