Norfolk State Women's Basketball at George Mason

Norfolk State at George Mason	Monday, Nov. 18	7 p.m. EST	EagleBank Arena
Radio: N/A	Live Video	Live Stats	Game Notes

 
FAIRFAX, Va. - The Norfolk State women's basketball team will try to get back in the win column when it takes on the George Mason Patriots at EagleBank Arena on Monday night at 7 p.m. This will be the first matchup between the two schools since the 2011-12 season.
 
Series History: The two programs have split the first four meetings, with Norfolk State earning victories in the first ever meeting on Nov. 27, 1982 and the last meeting Jan. 2, 2012. The Patriots had defeated the Spartans each of the previous two meetings by an average of 22 points and looked to be headed to another victory after erasing a seven-point deficit in the second half. However, NSU forced George Mason into 1-of-8 shooting in the last five minutes of the game, including a desperation trey at the buzzer by forward Janaa Pickard.

Whitney Long had 15 points on the night for NSU and hit the most important basket of the game, a floater in the lane for a 56-55 lead with 46.2 seconds left. Long and Rae Corbo each hit a pair of free throws in the last 20 seconds of play right after George Mason had missed the front end of a 1-and-1 down by one with 30 seconds to go.
 
About Norfolk State: The Norfolk State women's basketball team dropped to 1-2 following a hard-fought 65-54 decision at Old Dominion on Friday night. The Spartans have used a balanced attack early in the season. The Spartans have had at least three players scoring in double-digits in the first three games of the season. Juniors Kayla Roberts and Gabrielle Swinson led the team in scoring in the 65-54 loss at crosstown rival Old Dominion on Friday night. Seniors Jordan Strode and Dominique Harper had 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Spartans lead the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, rebounding, rebound margin, blocks, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Strode is averaging 13 points per game and leads the team in scoring. She has recorded double-digit scoring performances in each of the first three games. Roberts is second on the team in points per game with 11.3 and leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 per game.
                       
About George Mason: The Patriots suffered an 81-70 defeat at the hands of Arizona this past Friday night. It was the team's first loss on the season at home and dropped its record to 2-2. GMU had a double-digit lead (14) in the first quarter, when the team shot 73 percent from the field. The Wildcats battled back and never had a lead until the fourth quarter. They shot 91 percent from the field in the second-half and knocked down seven of its 10 made 3-pointers in the final two stanzas.

Freshman guard Jacy Bolton scored 17 points in the loss to Arizona and is averaging 10.5 points in the first four games of her career. She was 5-of-6 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 at the free-throw.
 
Ranked in the MEAC: Early in the season, the Spartans are showing up in the conference individual rankings. Strode is ranked 12th in scoring and 15th in rebounding, while Roberts is eighth in rebounding, 14th in assists and 18th in scoring. Swinson ranks sixth in assists and 20th in points, while Harper is tied with Roberts in assists, while ranking 30th in points. Kieera Basey has the 10th-most assists in the conference. Khalilah Ali is ninth in rebounding, while Shayla Tanner is 20th.