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NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State women's basketball used a balanced attack with six players in double figures in a 99-59 victory over Saint Augustine's in the Spartans' home opener Tuesday night at Echols Hall.

The Spartans (1-1) recorded their largest margin of victory since a 95-55 win over Delaware State on Feb. 23, 2015.

Senior guard Kiara Phillips recorded a game-high 18 points, while junior guard Gabrielle Swinson tallied a career-high 14 points. Freshman Tyona Moses also notched 14 points in her first collegiate game.

Senior forward Khalilah Ali, senior guard Jordan Strode and junior forward Kayla Roberts all registered double-doubles. Strode followed up her 14-point performance in the season opener with 13 points and 10 rebounds while adding four assists, two steals and one block. The 10 rebounds is her career high and the double-double is the first of her career.

Ali registered 11 points and 11 rebounds with two assists, two blocks and one steal. Roberts tallied 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

NSU (1-1) ended the first quarter on a 13-5 run over the final five minutes to turn a 9-6 lead into a 22-11 score at the end of the quarter. The Spartans headed to the locker room with a 44-29 lead, despite Saint Augustine's playing relatively even with Norfolk State in the second quarter.

 "We want to be tough to scout," Spartans head coach Larry Vickers said. "Everyone brings different strengths to the team and that prevents teams from keying on one or two players."

The Spartans came out hot in the third quarter as they outscored the Falcons 25-12 in the first five minutes of the quarter, putting the game away for all intents and purposes at 69-31. However, the lead would continue to grow despite Vickers going to his bench and utilizing every player available.

"We knew they would come into this game with a chip on their shoulder," Vickers said. "We did not want to let up and let them back in the game."

Phillips tallied 11 of her 18 points in the second half. She also grabbed a career-high six rebounds, with two assists and one block.

The Spartans also outrebounded the Falcons 61-28. The 61 rebounds is the sixth-highest in a single game in the program's history. Roberts, Ali and Strode combined for 32 rebounds, marking the first time since Jan. 14, 2012 that the Spartans had three players each record at least 10 boards.

"We wanted to dominate the glass," Vickers said.

Norfolk State had 28 assists on 38 made baskets. The 28 assists is the third highest all-time in a single game in school history.

Swinson went 7-of-9 from the field which is good enough for a 77.8 percent shooting percentage. That is the sixth-highest for a single game in school history. Roberts, who is now 17th all-time in school history in blocks, swatted away three shots on Tuesday.

The team will have a short time to celebrate their first win of the season before Vickers and his staff start preparing for a showdown with their cross-town rival, Old Dominion. The Spartans will travel to the Ted Constant Convocation Center to face ODU on Friday night at 7 p.m.  

"We would love our fans to come out and support us," Vickers said. "We know the fans will be loud and when they make runs they will get loud. We want our fans to get loud and get behind us."