BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior forward Kayla Roberts recorded season highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Norfolk State women's basketball team (2-3) to an 81-57 victory over host Lehigh (4-2) in the opening round of the Christmas City Classic Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena.
 
Junior guard Gabrielle Swinson and senior guards Jordan Strode and Kiara Phillips joined Roberts in double-digit scoring. Swinson recorded a season-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-for-3 effort from the free-throw line. She also grabbed seven rebounds while adding three assists and two steals.
 
Strode returned to the lineup after a one-game absence and registered her fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game to start the season. She tallied 12 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists. Phillips added 11 points and hit three of NSU's six 3-pointers on the day.
 
The Spartans will face Hartford tomorrow in the championship game of the two-day tournament. Tip-off is 30 minutes after the conclusion of the consolation game between Lehigh and Monmouth, which tips off at 2 p.m.
 
Norfolk State jumped out to a 22-14 lead after one quarter. The Spartans shot 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the field in the period, including 2-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. Lehigh cut the NSU lead to five with a minute left in the quarter, but Phillips hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans an eight-point lead heading to the second. The Mountain Hawks got no closer the rest of the game.
 
Roberts was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and outscored the Mountain Hawks 10-9 in the second quarter as NSU took a commanding 46-23 lead into the half. Roberts, Swinson and Strode helped jump start the offense in the first half, with each scoring in double figures. Roberts tallied 15 points in the first two quarters, while Swinson and Strode added 11 and 10, respectively.
 
 "Kayla knew she had a good matchup," Norfolk State head coach Larry Vickers said. "She took advantage of it."
 
Defensively, NSU held the Mountain Hawks to 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) shooting in the first half, including just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) in the second quarter. The Spartans also owned the glass in the first half, outrebounding Lehigh 21-12.
 
"I thought today was about our focus and intensity going into the game," Vickers said. "It came from the top down. We really looked like a team tonight."
 
Lehigh could not get closer than 19 in the second half. The Spartans' lead grew to as many as 31 points, at 57-26, after Roberts hit a jumper with five minutes and 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
 
Lehigh was led by Quinci Mann, who notched 13 points. She was 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
 
Norfolk State shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the floor for the game, while outrebounding the Mountain Hawks 43-36. The Spartans outscored Lehigh 46-24 in the paint and 16-0 in fastbreak points.
 
Senior forward Khalilah Ali added eight points on 4-of-6 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Dominique Harper added six points and six rebounds.